INCA Renewtech to manufacture hemp-based composite for wind turbines
Monica Ferguson
Sustainability Manufacturing agriculture Canada Hemp Technology Wind
Photo credit: INCA Renewtech.
INCA Renewable Technologies announced plans to manufacture an alternative to Amazon balsa wood and PET thermoplastic foams used to construct wind turbine blades and boats. The product will be manufactured at a 200,000-square-foot fibre processing and composites facility to be built in Vegreville, Alberta.
During the manufacturing process, BioBalsa generates 107 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions and reduces waste generation by 93 per cent versus cutting and milling balsa wood. It generates 164 per cent less carbon emissions than PET, 99.56 per cent less waste production and 93 per cent less water consumption.
“We have helped over 3,000 businesses and corporations measure and reduce their environmental impacts through independent energy, waste, carbon, and lifecycle analysis,” said says Angela Nagy, President and CEO, GreenStep Solutions Inc. “The lifecycle report conducted for INCA Renewtech took account of environmental impacts of extraction, production, resource use, and end-of-life disposal. The report concluded that all of the INCA products assessed, dramatically reduced carbon emissions and environmental impacts, when compared to competitive products made of petroleum, wood, or fiberglass.”
According to the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Alberta is now a global leader in the production of sustainably grown hemp and responsible for 40 per cent of Canada’s hemp production.
