3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
turbine’s lifespan, resulting in significant reductions in CO 2 emissions compared to primary steel
production.
OFFshore Wind
Two examples help illuminate the potential market for steel in the offshore wind market. In
2002, the installation of 160 MW of offshore wind turbines at Horns Rev (Horns Reef) 15
kilometers off the coast of Denmark required 28,000 tonnes of steel. That is roughly 175
tonnes of steel per MW. By 2016, ArcelorMittal participated with Statoil and Siemens in the
offshore 30 MW Hywind Park situated 25 km off the coast of Scotland. The six 5 MW turbines
required 3,500 tonnes of steel, or 116 tons of steel per MW.
The 2015 global 100% renewables energy assessment conducted by a joint team of Stanford
University and UC Berkeley scientists, engineers and economic analysts calculated the global
wind market opportunity over the next 35 years. 190 They assumed wind turbines located in
roughly one-quarter (~27%) of the near-shore offshore wind technical resource potential. This
amounts to 760,000 wind turbines (5 MW each), which would satisfy ~13% of total global
energy consumption. The 3.8 million MW of installed offshore wind capacity represents an
€11.7 trillion (2013€) global market opportunity. Assuming 100 tonnes of steel per offshore
MW, suggests a global market opportunity of 380 million tonnes of steel worth a quarter trillion
euros (2016€).
There is also a circular economy crossover benefit of working with the concrete and cement
industry in creating steel-in-concrete and steel-around-concrete foundations. As the World
Steel Association spells out, “To improve durability and achieve longer-term strength, 70% of
the cement in a concrete foundation can be replaced with ground granulated blast furnace slag
(GGBS), a by-product from the steel industry. In many cement or concrete applications, this is
the most cost-effective method for strengthening foundations because it adds no overall cost.
Furthermore, compared to a foundation that does not use GGBS, it saves an average of 92
tonnes of CO 2 per foundation manufactured." 191
The circular economy is also facilitated by the reuse of 90% of the steel in wind turbines at the
end of their 20 to 30 year lifespans, shrinking the ecological footprints involved in extractive
mining, the amount of energy and water required in virgin processing, and levels of CO 2
emissions, air pollutants, and wastes.
190 Jacobson, Mark and Mark Delucchi et al. (2015) 100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS)
All- Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World, December 2015,
https://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/susenergy2030.html.
191 WSA (2012) Steel Solutions in the Green Economy, Wind Turbines, World Steel Association.
225