Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturing: A Material Flow Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the material flow of wind turbine blade manufacturing for an onshore wind farm with a nominal capacity of 300 Megawatts (MW). For this purpose, the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method was used in STAN® 2.7.101 software. A material demand of 4,946 t of material and waste generation of 514 t from composite material made of fiberglass and epoxy resin were estimated in the manufacturing of 225 wind turbine blades in one year. In this way, cleaner production practices are required to promote the reduction of material loss and the utilization of waste materials.