Decommissioning

Abandoned Wells Can Provide Use for Pulverized Wind-Turbine Blades

This paper discusses housing pulverized blades mixed with Portland cement in wells considered for plugging and abandonment.

A wellbore diagram indicating plugged areas and open cavity space.
Fig. 1—A wellbore diagram indicating plugged areas and open cavity space.
Source: SPE 213000.

The complete paper outlines a potential solution for handling leftovers from wind-turbine blades. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in such blades. The risk of BPA leaching into groundwater resources and the soil from wind-turbine-blade landfills can damage the food chain and can harm future generations through exposure to contaminated resources. The solution discussed by the authors is the potential use of the casing of idle wells considered for plugging and abandonment (P&A) for housing pulverized blades mixed with Portland cement.

Introduction

The first large wind farms in the US were installed in the 1980s.

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