PI Paul Leahy quoted in EcoNews.Green and Goodnewsnetwork.org articles on BladeBridges in Ireland nd"

EcoNews.Green article "Old wind turbines are being reborn as bridges in Ireland"

In Eire, University College Cork has begun tests designed to incorporate sections of the blades into a bridge across the Middleton-Younghal Greenway.

“The blades are from a decommissioned Nordex N29 turbine, 14m long. For this bridge, which has a span of 5m, we cut a short section from the blade. The blades are used as the main structural element of the bridge and are functional in the design,” says Paul Leahy, lecturer in Wind Energy Engineering.

“However, they are also aesthetically attractive due to their gently curved shape, so we believe this will become a feature of interest on the greenway route. We are also looking at additional repurposed blade products such as outdoor furniture.”

Cork University College is part of a wider ‘Re-Wind project’ involving experts from Queen’s University Belfast, City University of New York and Georgia Institute of Technology. Other repurposing projects being investigated by Re-Wind include electrical transmission towers, highway noise barriers and coastal wake breaks to decrease erosion.

And also quoted in,

Goodnewsnetwork.org article “Retired Wind Turbine Blades Get Turned into Bridges and Reinforced Concrete.”

Enter University College Cork in Ireland, and their plan to build a bridge out of old wind turbine blades. That can only be a good thing, as the Emerald Isle will get weighed down by 11,000 tons of decommissioned blades over the next 4 years.

The bridge will span the Middleton-Younghal Greenway, a nature cycling and walking path.

“The blades are from a decommissioned Nordex N29 turbine, 14 meters long,” said Paul Leahy, lecturer in wind energy engineering to Euro News. “For this bridge, which has a span of 5m, we cut a short section from the blade. The blades are used as the main structural element of the bridge and are functional in the design.”

“However, they are also aesthetically attractive due to their gently curved shape, so we believe this will become a feature of interest on the greenway route. We are also looking at additional repurposed blade products such as outdoor furniture.”

UCC is working with schools in the States on the “Re-Wind” project—which aims to employ old blades for other uses, such as coastal wake barriers to protect soils from erosion, or to build electrical transmission towers.