RETACO

RETACO is an R&D project created in consortium with TETRACE, Renercycle, and SEN.
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In recent years, the Spanish wind energy sector has maintained its upward trajectory in terms of new capacity installation and participation in the generation mix. However, this remarkable growth at a global level comes alongside the growing need for total or partial decommissioning of existing wind farms that are reaching the end of their useful life.

While the industry has achieved significant progress toward full circularity in the wind sector through the development of innovative recycling and reconditioning processes, there are still aspects yet to be resolved. Specifically, the consortium formed by RenerCycle, Servicios Ecológicos de Navarra (SEN) and Tetrace has identified a lack of size-reduction and handling methodologies specifically designed for large wind turbine components: blades, towers, and nacelles.

In this context, the size reduction of large wind turbine components is presented as an essential process to facilitate their transportation and recycling, whose

implications have a significant impact on decommissioning costs, and which takes place both at the wind farm site itself — enabling more efficient logistics and proper waste management — and in industrial settings intended for the processing of the various components prior to their recycling and reconditioning.

RETACO proposes addressing this challenge through a comprehensive approach to the complete process of handling, size reduction, and optimized transportation of large wind turbine components, from the dismantling of the wind turbine to the delivery of the recovered materials to recycling and reconditioning facilities.