On April 9, RWE announced a major breakthrough: at the Thor offshore wind farm in Denmark, the company successfully installed the world’s first offshore wind turbine featuring an integrated low-emission tower and recyclable blades. Supplied by Siemens Gamesa, this turbine marks a landmark milestone in the transition of the offshore wind industry toward a circular economy.

The Thor offshore wind farm has a planned installed capacity of 1.1 GW and will feature 72 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD 15 MW wind turbines, including 36 units equipped with low-emission towers and 40 units fitted with a total of 120 recyclable blades. The project is expected to become fully operational in 2027 and, upon completion, will be Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm.

The core of this innovation centers on carbon reduction across the entire life-cycle: the low-carbon steel used in the low-emission tower reduces carbon emissions by more than 63% compared to traditional steel, achieving significant emission reductions through processes such as smelting with renewable energy and scrap steel recycling; the recyclable blades, leveraging innovative resin technology, can undergo efficient separation and reuse of composite materials after decommissioning, finding applications in sectors such as automotive and consumer goods, thereby fundamentally resolving the industry-wide challenge of wind turbine blade decommissioning and recycling.

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind, stated that offshore wind power has already achieved low-carbon electricity generation, and this innovation is driving the industry toward a fully circular economy.

Marc Becker, Senior Vice President of Siemens Gamesa Offshore, stated that this world-first solution can reduce the overall carbon emissions of wind turbines by approximately 20%, turning the circular economy from a vision into reality, and demonstrating a viable path for the large-scale, sustainable development of offshore wind power in a safe and efficient manner.