Circular Economy for Offshore Wind

Wind power is a renewable energy source which has seen a huge increase in usage over the past 50-years. For decades, wind power has been seen as a clean source of energy, but now increasing numbers of onshore wind farms are being decommissioned and the amount of waste generated is becoming a concern. With the increasing

installation of offshore wind turbines, we are starting to ask, when is the best time to think about what happens to the turbines at their end of life? Circular economy (CE) is a way of thinking that challenges the traditional linear economy whereby raw materials are extracted, a product is manufactured, used and then is disposed of. It

includes reducing the amount of material used right from the design stage, remanufacturing parts and recycling materials so that the end of life for one piece of equipment is linked to the beginning of life for another. This literature review looks at the research for different aspects of CE and reviews the metrics which are and could

be used to measure circularity.