Vestas Takes Most Radical Step Yet Toward Zero Turbine Waste

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, has pledged to eliminate all waste in the production of its machines by 2040 as part of its drive to hit carbon neutrality by the start of the next decade.

With wind power estimated to make up more than a quarter of the world’s power mix by 2050, installation of turbines will proliferate but with that comes the problem of increased amounts of industrial waste.

Developers will come under more pressure to clean up a manufacturing process that will see waste from turbine blades alone reaching 43 million tons by 2050, according to a Cambridge University study, or roughly the U.K.’s annual industrial and commercial waste.

Vestas is drawing up a strategy to clean up the design, production, servicing and end-of-life treatment of its turbines. The Aarhus, Denmark-based manufacturer said it’s the first among its competitors to announce a zero-waste ambition and aims to publish its plan within two years.