Engie Green wraps up wind farm decom job

Components of the six wind turbines in Hauts-de-France have been recycled or reclaimed

Engie Green has completed the dismantling of the Widehem wind farm in Hauts-de-France.

All components of the six wind turbines in the park have been sorted and sent to specialised recycling and recovery channels.

The concrete foundations will be removed in June at the same time as the start of construction of a new wind project nearby.

The first stages of the process began in October 2022 with the preparation of the accesses, followed in the spring of 2023 by the dismantling and recycling of the steel towers.

After the removal of the rotors, the blades were transported to Bourbourg (near Dunkirk) to be cut, before being crushed and transformed into pellets to be used in new industrial processes, for example for the manufacture of street furniture or even vine stakes.

Nacelles, generators and cables have been sorted by material for recycling and the oils were recovered and treated.

The concrete foundations will be crushed and reused in roads or backfill.

To complete the work, the sites will be restored. These are mixed plots which will be cultivated or which will remain abandoned by Sanef (North and East France Motorway Company).

Widehem wind farm was commissioned in 2000.

A new, more efficient park nearby will be put into service in December 2023 and it will also include six wind turbines with a total capacity of 4.8MW.

The new machines will be the same height as the old units (76 metres), in accordance with the request of the inhabitants of the municipality, allowing production to be optimised without modifying the landscape.

The park will produce 10,560MWh/year and will supply 4700 people.