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Siemens Gamesa has launched what it claims is the world’s first recyclable offshore wind turbine blade. The “RecyclableBlade” is ready for commercial use offshore, and Siemens Gamesa has already made agreements with three customers.

Recyclable offshore wind turbine blade

The Spanish renewable company’s first six 266-feet-long (81-meter-long) RecyclableBlades have been produced at its blade factory in Aalborg, Denmark.

This announcement is a big step toward Siemens Gamesa’s goal to make turbines fully recyclable by 2040.

Siemens Gamesa is working closely with German energy company RWE to install and pilot RecyclableBlades at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in Germany, which should be working from 2022. It’s also working with France-based EDF Renewables to deploy several sets of RecyclableBlade at a future offshore project. And finally, it’s working with Germany’s WPD with the intention to install sets of the RecyclableBlade at one of their future offshore wind farms.

How it works

According to Siemens Gamesa:

Siemens Gamesa wind turbine blades are made from a combination of materials cast together with resin to form a strong and flexible lightweight structure. The chemical structure of this new resin type makes it possible to efficiently separate the resin from the other components at end of the blade’s working life. This mild process protects the properties of the materials in the blade, in contrast to other existing ways of recycling conventional wind turbine blades.

So, once it’s time to recycle the blade, it’s immersed into a heated, mild acidic solution, which will separate the resin from the fiberglass, plastic, wood, and metals. The separated materials can then be recovered, rinsed, and dried.

The materials are now ready to be used in new products matching their technical properties, such as in the auto industry, or in consumer goods such as flight cases and flatscreen casings.

Check out this short video that illustrates the blades and the recycling process:

YouTube Poster

Electrek’s Take

85% of a wind turbine is already recyclable, but until this breakthrough, it has been inherently difficult to recycle the wind turbine blades in a cost-efficient way.

What to do with wind turbine blades after their life cycle ends has been a point of contention in this rapidly growing clean energy sector. Blade recycling will avoid a lot of landfill.

According to Siemens Gamesa, more than 200,000 blades could now be recycled, based on all new offshore projects globally projected until 2050. That’s a great leap forward for the wind industry. And the really cool thing is that the company is capable of recycling the blades now.

Read more: Siemens spin-offs to develop offshore wind turbines that produce green hydrogen

Photo: Siemens Gamesa


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Entertainment

Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

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Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

Pop star Lana Del Rey has married her alligator tour guide partner in Louisiana, according to reports.

The singer, 39, and Jeremy Dufrene, 49, are said to have obtained a marriage licence in Lafourche parish on Monday and had their wedding three days later.

Footage obtained by the Daily Mail appears to show Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Woodridge Grant, wearing a white dress where Mr Dufrene works as a tour guide in Des Allemandes, south of New Orleans.

Del Rey has not commented on the reported wedding.

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She met Mr Dufrene in 2019, posting pictures of her on one of his tours with the caption: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x.”

Arthur’s Air Boat Tours gives guided tours through the local swamps, where its website says visitors are likely to see “300 species of birds” and “alligators up close and personal”.

Mr Dufrene’s profile page says he previously worked seven days a week at a chemical plant – when he would “shrimp on vacation days”.

“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it adds.

“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”

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The couple were pictured together at Reading and Leeds festival this summer where Del Rey headlined.

She previously dated Scottish singer Barrie-James O’Neill for three years and was last linked to a police officer called Sean Larkin.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with further sexual assault allegations after a woman filed a lawsuit in New York.

In the fresh civil case, the woman – identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe – claims she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul’s homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters.

It follows a series of similar legal cases brought by women against Combs, 54, who was arrested at a hotel in New York last week on sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

The latest lawsuit was filed on Friday against Combs, his companies and several associates, and seeks undisclosed damages for physical injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and other harm.

The woman claims she met Combs abroad in 2020 and that the assaults and harassment continued through to July this year.

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Rappers dodge Diddy question

She says she was often coerced and harassed into travelling to Combs’ homes in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and other cities, and during every visit the rapper would make her “perform a show” for him.

In one encounter alleged to have taken place in July 2022, the woman claims she blacked out after being forced to take drugs that included ketamine.

She later allegedly took a pregnancy test and told Combs it was positive. She said an associate of the music producer repeatedly demanded her to get an abortion. The lawsuit states she had a miscarriage.

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Diddy ‘didn’t do these things’ – lawyer

The woman, who is being represented by lawyers Marie Napoli and Joseph Ciaccio, also alleges Combs and his associates tracked her location and monitored her conversations.

She claims Combs discouraged her from working and gave her an “allowance” that he used to control her.

Read more:
What is Sean Combs accused of?
Former porn actress accuses rap mogul of sex assault

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“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” Ms Napoli said in a statement.

Combs has been facing civil allegations including rape, sexual assault, and forced drugging since November 2023.

He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but remains jailed, having been denied bail. His attorney said he is innocent and will fight to clear his name.

A lawyer for Combs did not respond to the allegations made in Friday’s lawsuit when contacted by the Associated Press news agency.

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Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died

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Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died

Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said.

The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said.

In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Born in Essex in 1934, Dame Maggie became an internationally recognised actress – one of the most versatile, accomplished and meticulous actresses of her generation.

Her first significant accolade came after playing the fanatical teacher in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969, which won her a best actress Oscar and BAFTA.

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Her second Oscar came for her role in California Suite in 1978 which won her a best supporting actress trophy, as well as a Golden Globe.

Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock
Image:
Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley in the Downton Abbey movie (2019). Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock

More recently she won a new generation of fans as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey and playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies.

Although she was a tour de force in leading roles on the West End stage, she was equally happy – even during the years of her mega-stardom – to accept supporting roles, particularly in films.

Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy
Image:
Dame Maggie played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy

Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie - 1969
Maggie Smith

1969
Image:
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Downton Abbey TV series won her a series of awards – three Emmys, a Golden Globe, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

TV presenter Gyles Brandreth has led the tributes, describing her as “wise, witty, waspish, wonderful” and “one of a kind in every way”.

Sir Keir Starmer posted on X that Dame Maggie was a “true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come” while former prime minister Rishi Sunak described her as “an icon of the stage and screen”.

Meanwhile a message posted by BAFTA said: “Dame Maggie was a legend of British stage and screen, winning five BAFTAs as well as a BAFTA Special Award and BAFTA Fellowship during her highly acclaimed career.”

She took Maggie as her stage name because another Margaret Smith was active in the theatre. She was 18 when she first appeared on stage, in Twelfth Night.

Laurence Olivier spotted her talent, invited her to be part of his original National Theatre company and cast her as his co-star in a 1965 film adaptation of Othello.

Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Sister Act - 1992
Maggie Smith, Whoopi Goldberg

1992
Image:
She played Mother Superior alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act (1992). Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

JUDI DENCH AND MAGGIE SMITH IN 'A ROOM WITH A VIEW' - 1986

1986
Image:
Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in A Room With A View (1986). Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Film - 2015
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, 2015. Maggie Smith, Richard Gere

2015
Image:
She starred alongside Richard Gere in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Some of her best-known movies included: Young Cassidy in 1966, Death On The Nile in 1979, Quartet in 1982, The Secret Garden in 1994, Tea With Mussolini in 2000, Gosford Park in 2002, and The Lady In The Van in 2016.

She married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967. They had two sons and divorced in 1975. The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross, who died in 1998. She was made a Dame in 1990.

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