By Ciara Leary Higgins When I started my internship with WEELO and UWE Bristol, my first task was to dig into the planning history of 27 pioneer onshore wind farms across England, Scotland, and Wales that had reached the end of their operational life. Starting this straight after my Geography degree, I assumed this would…
Introducing our intern
My name is Ciara and I have just completed my BA Geography (Hons) degree at UWE Bristol. I have been successful in securing an internship to join the Wind Energy End of Life Observatory (WEELO) to work on a small project for the next couple of months. The internship entitled ‘Addressing data shortages at the end of-life stage of wind infrastructure: What relevant data can be…
New paper alert: What has driven onshore wind farm closures in the UK, and what happens next? Understanding end-of-life pathways
We are really pleased to share the latest output from the WEELO collaboration. This paper addresses one of WEELO’s central questions: the lack of empirical evidence on what happens at the end of life of wind farms. While much of existing research has focused on techno-economic assessments or projections of recyclability and decommissioning, our study…
Tackling End-of-Life Wind InfrastructureHighlights from the WEELO Event on Innovation and Future Research
As the wind energy sector matures, the question of what happens when turbines reach the end of their operational life is becoming increasingly urgent. On the 24th of June 2025, we hosted the event ‘Tackling End-of-Life Challenges in Wind Infrastructure: Innovations, Insights, and Future Research Pathways’, in UWE Bristol, bringing together researchers, industry experts, and…
Call for contributions: Tackling End-of-Life Challenges in Wind Infrastructure: Innovations, Insights, and Future Research Pathways Event
We are organising a workshop on the 24th of June 2025 (11.00-17.00) at the University of the West of England City Campus at Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay Bristol BS1 4QA. The workshop aims at bringing together wind energy professionals and policy makers that are working on the management of end of life of wind turbines…
The Wind Energy End-of-Life Observatory (WEELO) is a collaborative research unit, designed to provide accurate, evidence -based and up-to-date analysis of key trends, risks and solutions for the end-of-life challenges for onshore wind: challenges around replacement, repowering, removal and the creation of circular economies for redundant components. WEELO brings together expertise from the University of…