- Vestas Wind Systems will use low-carbon recycled steel from ArcelorMittal to build the turbine towers.
- The steel is manufactured by melting steel scrap in an electric arc furnace powered entirely by wind energy.
Vestas Wind Systems will use low-carbon recycled steel from ArcelorMittal to build the turbine towers for Poland’s 1,140 MW Baltic Power offshore wind project. The Polish project is the first where upper sections of the wind turbine towers will be constructed using recycled and sustainably produced heavy plate steel supplied by the major steel company as part of a partnership with Vestas.
The steel is manufactured by melting steel scrap in an electric arc furnace powered entirely by wind energy at ArcelorMittal’s steel mill in Belgium. Subsequently, the steel slabs are converted into heavy plates to produce wind turbine towers at ArcelorMittal’s heavy plate mill in Gijon, Spain.
According to ArcelorMittal, recycled steel can be used for the top section of offshore wind towers and all the onshore wind turbine towers. This reduces carbon emissions by 25 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively, compared with towers made from steel produced via the conventional steelmaking route, the steel major said.