Corecut Delivers a First for Wind Turbine Blade Cutting

When Corecut received an enquiry from a client Full Circle Wind Services about dismantling a 500-kW wind turbine in Cornwall, the question was simple but challenging: Could turbine blades be cut in situ, 55 metres above the ground? To our knowledge, it had never been done before in the UK – But our answer was yes.

The turbine had one damaged 26-metre blade, creating an off-centre load. To restore balance and allow safe removal of the hub, the two remaining blades each weighing around 2,000 kg needed to be cut down to size while still mounted at height.

We took on the challenge. Our engineers adapted one of our Electric specialist Diamond Wiresaw units for remote deployment and, working with crane and access partners, developed a safe method to complete the work.

Over two days, the two operational blades were cut and lowered. On the ground, they were sectioned into smaller pieces for easier handling and transport.
The work was completed safely, on time, and met all requirements, the first use of diamond cutting on wind turbine blades in situ in the UK.