First turbine commissioned at RWE’s Kaskasi wind farm in the German North Sea
35 kilometres north of the island of Heligoland, the first turbine of RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm was recently commissioned, and is now supplying green electricity to the grid. Nine of the in total 38 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD Flex offshore wind turbines are installed, each with a capacity of close to 9 megawatts (MW). Kaskasi is RWE’s sixth wind farm off the German coast. When fully operational by the end of 2022, Kaskasi will be capable of supplying the equivalent of more than 400,000 German households with green electricity every year. This is comparable to a large city like Frankfurt am Main.
World’s first recyclable wind turbine blades installed
RWE is leading the technological development in the offshore wind industry. Together with Siemens Gamesa, the Kaskasi project now features the world’s first installed recyclable wind turbine blades. The components of the 81-meter long RecyclableBlades are able to be recycled for new applications at the end of their lifecycle. RWE and Siemens Gamesa are helping to pave the way towards the full recyclability of wind turbines.
Many components of a wind turbine already have established recycling practices. Until now, the composite materials used in wind turbine blades have been more challenging to recycle. The resin system employed binds all components together. In its RecyclableBlade, Siemens Gamesa uses a resin type with a chemical structure that makes it possible to efficiently separate it from other components following decommissioning. The process protects the properties of the materials, allowing them to be reused in new casting applications, for example in the automotive industry or in consumer goods like flight cases and flatscreen casings.
Tailwind for RWE and the energy transition in Germany
RWE is one of the leading companies in the field of renewable energies and No. 2 worldwide in offshore wind. By 2030, RWE intends to grow its global offshore wind capacity from currently
3 gigawatts (GW) to 8 GW (capacity represents RWE’s share only). Also in Germany, the company is stepping up the pace: In the German North Sea RWE is pushing ahead with the development of four offshore wind projects with a total capacity of 1.5 GW – partly together with its Canadian partner. By 2030, RWE will invest up to 15 billion euros gross in the green energy sector in Germany.
