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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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Jessica Chastain criticises decision to delay release of The Savant after Charlie Kirk killing

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Jessica Chastain criticises decision to delay release of The Savant after Charlie Kirk killing

Jessica Chastain has criticised Apple’s decision to delay the release of political thriller series The Savant after the killing of Charlie Kirk.

The actress, who is also executive producer of the show for the tech giant’s TV+ streaming service, said she was “not aligned on the decision to pause the release”.

In a post on Instagram, she said the programme, in which she plays a woman who tries to draw out potential terrorists online, is “so relevant” and she has never “shied away from difficult subjects”.

Chastain portrays a military veteran who works at the Anti-Hate Alliance, where she secretly visits 4Chan-like message boards and poses as a white nationalist to identify possible terrorists.

“‘The Savant’ is about the heroes who work every day to stop violence before it happens, and honouring their courage feels more urgent than ever,” Chastain said.

“I remain hopeful the show will reach audiences soon. Until then, I’m wishing safety and strength for everyone.”

She listed several acts of political violence in the US in recent years, including a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer, the attempted assassinations of Donald Trump last year and also the killing of controversial influencer Kirk.

Read more:
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Apple said it chose to postpone the show after “careful consideration” but did not give a reason why.

Kimmel’s comeback show brings in record ratings

Meanwhile, millions of people tuned in to watch Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday after he returned to TV after Disney suspended him for nearly a week after he made comments about Kirk.

Jimmy Kimmel hosting his late night show. Pic: AP
Image:
Jimmy Kimmel hosting his late night show. Pic: AP

ABC said 6.26 million people watched Kimmel as he said it was “never my intention to make light of” Kirk’s death. It was the late-night show’s highest-rated regularly scheduled episode.

Read more:
Explained: Why Jimmy Kimmel was taken off air

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Kimmel returns – and not everyone’s on same page

“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he said as he choked up.

“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make”.

Kimmel had been accused of being “offensive and insensitive” after using his programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live, to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on the killing.

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Claudia Cardinale: Star of The Pink Panther and Once Upon A Time In The West dies aged 87

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Claudia Cardinale: Star of The Pink Panther and Once Upon A Time In The West dies aged 87

Acclaimed Italian actress Claudia Cardinale, who starred in The Pink Panther and Once Upon A Time In The West, has died aged 87, according to French media reports.

The actress, who starred in more than 100 films and made-for-TV productions, died in Nemours, France, surrounded by her children, her agent told the AFP news agency.

At the age of 17 she won a beauty contest in Tunisia, where she was born to Sicilian parents, and was rewarded with a trip to the Venice Film Festival, kick-starting her acting career.

She had expected to become a schoolteacher before she entered the beauty contest.

Claudia Cardinale at the Prix Lumieres awards ceremony in Paris in January 2013. Pic: AP
Image:
Claudia Cardinale at the Prix Lumieres awards ceremony in Paris in January 2013. Pic: AP

Cardinale gained international fame in 1963 when she starred in both Federico Fellini’s 8-1/2 and The Leopard.

She went on to star in the comedy The Pink Panther and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time In The West in 1968.

She considered 1966’s The Professionals as the best of her Hollywood films.

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Trump backs Ukraine to retake territory

When she was awarded a lifetime achievement at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002, she said acting had been a great career.

“I’ve lived more than 150 lives, prostitute, saint, romantic, every kind of woman, and that is marvellous to have this opportunity to change yourself,” she said.

“I’ve worked with the most important directors. They gave me everything.”

Cardinale was named a goodwill ambassador for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for the defence of women’s rights in 2000.

She is survived by two children.

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Convicted killer jailed after turning up at Cheryl Tweedy’s home for fourth time

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Convicted killer jailed after turning up at Cheryl Tweedy's home for fourth time

A convicted killer who turned up at Cheryl Tweedy’s home for a fourth time has been jailed.

Daniel Bannister, 50, was sentenced to 12 months after admitting a single charge of breaching a restraining order.

He was also given a new restraining order, which warns him against contacting the former Girls Aloud singer.

“You are causing her anxiety,” Judge Alan Blake told him.

“She does not wish any contact with you. You have shown defiance to the court order. You need to draw a line under that behaviour.”

Bannister turned up at Tweedy’s rural home for the fourth time on 19 June.

Reading Crown Court heard he arrived in a taxi just before 10pm and rang the intercom twice before peering over the gate.

Bannister believed the singer had invited him to her home over Microsoft Teams, the court was told.

Daniel Bannister. Pic: Thames Valley Police
Image:
Daniel Bannister. Pic: Thames Valley Police

Tweedy said she was “stunned” when Bannister visited her home yet again and had been forced to hire security.

“Each time he returns the worry of his intentions intensifies,” she said in a victim impact statement.

“I’m worried, nervous and on edge every time I open my gate. No person should have to feel this way.

“Daniel has made my young child scared,” she added.

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Bannister was initially jailed for four months in September last year – and handed a three-year restraining order.

But he breached it by turning up at Tweedy’s home in December.

In March, he was jailed for 16 weeks at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court for repeatedly going to Tweedy’s Buckinghamshire home while under the restraining order.

During that appearance, the court heard that Tweedy “immediately panicked” and was “terrified” when she saw him outside her home, fearing for the safety of her eight-year-old son Bear.

Bannister killed Rajendra Patel, 48, at a south London YMCA shelter in 2012 and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Mr Patel died from an injury to his leg, a court heard.

Tweedy’s former partner Liam Payne died last year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony.

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