From Waste to Wind on 3D Printing Wind Turbines Using Plastic Waste

In recent years, wind power has been developing around the world in order to provide a more sustainable alternative for electricity production. In the US for example, total annual electricity generation from wind energy increased from 6 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2000 to about 380 billion kWh in 2021. This accounts for approximately 9.2% of total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). And obviously, there are still many challenges to overcome, but the progress deserves to be highlighted. Among these challenges, one notable one is customers who are not always in favor of the construction of wind turbines (visuals, noise pollution, etc.), but also the recyclability of the blades produced. The Belgian association From Waste to Wind was created to address these challenges. It uses additive manufacturing, and more specifically fused deposition modeling (FDM), to design wind turbines from recycled plastic. We met its founder Bram Peirs to learn more about this ambitious project!

3DN: Could you introduce yourself and your connection to 3D printing?

Hi, my name is Bram and I am the founder of the non-profit organization From Waste to Wind. I gained valuable experience in the Flemish government, where I monitored the environmental effects of large wind turbines. Now I want to make an open-source 3D printable wind turbine available to the public with my own company. From Waste to Wind has already received an international award and additional support from the Antwerp Climate Fund in Belgium.

Bram Peirs holds a 3D printed wind turbine blade

3DN: How did From Waste to Wind get started? What is the idea behind it?

In the Flemish government, I have noticed that there is still a lot of resistance to wind turbines. Yet there are already quite strict rules to limit the impact of wind turbines on the environment. But people are not aware of them. They fear that wind turbines will cause noise pollution and block their view, so they don’t want them in their garden. I wanted people to look at them differently. I first made wind turbines myself out of old barrels, with magnets from old hard drives. I loved being able to make something out of nothing. I met other people on the internet who were trying to make the same thing as me and that’s how things started.