Offshore wind farms are essential to producing sufficient clean energy and achieving climate goals. Eneco aims to drive the circular development of new offshore wind turbines. Copper8 supports Eneco in embedding circular principles into its bid for the IJmuiden Ver wind farm.
Context
Offshore wind is a key building block in achieving the Netherlands’ climate goals. However, producing wind turbines requires large amounts of raw materials, including critical metals. Circular design of these turbines can help reduce the environmental impact of production, limit supply chain risks, and extend their lifespan. To encourage market players to take steps in this direction, the Dutch government has incorporated circularity into its tender criteria. The focus lies primarily on creating transparency and insight into material use, environmental impact, and value retention across the entire lifecycle.
The question
Support Eneco in developing circular design strategies for the various components of wind turbines. The aim is to create transparency around the circular opportunities available and the trade‑offs that must be considered; as an integral part of the tender.
The requirements
The circular design strategies must be grounded in Eneco’s internal One Planet strategy, the strategy of its partner Equinor, and the technical capabilities of turbine manufacturers. To bring these strategies into practice, winning the tender is essential: the solutions must therefore also contribute to scoring within the tender criteria.
The process
Within the broader tender team, a dedicated sub‑team was established to develop the circular design strategies. This team maintained close contact with both the turbine manufacturers and the other internal disciplines—technical as well as legal. Through a creative process of brainstorming, elaboration, alignment, and decision‑making, the team worked toward the final submission. Coordination with the design strategies related to the other sustainability ambition in this tender—strengthening the local ecology—was also essential.
The result
The process resulted in a comprehensive set of more than 25 circular design strategies for the various components of wind turbines. For each strategy, we outlined how it contributes to the sustainability and circularity of an offshore wind farm, as well as the key considerations to take into account. Due to external factors, the Eneco–Equinor consortium ultimately decided not to submit a bid for the IJmuiden Ver tender.
Thanks to Copper8’s support in preparing the tender for the IJmuiden Ver offshore wind project, Eneco (together with Equinor) was able to develop a well‑thought‑out proposal. Copper8’s expertise added significant value to both the final product and the process, and we greatly appreciated the collaboration. The dedication and passion of the Copper8 team brought a lot of positive energy!
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