World Demolition Awards shortlist: Environmental

This category celebrates demolition projects that demonstrate outstanding reduction in environmental impact during operations with measurable improvements in emissions, energy use, noise, dust, biodiversity protection and overall site sustainability achieved through strong planning, innovation and execution.

D&Ri congratulates the following companies on making the shortlist:

CARDEM (France)

PROJECT: Fresnes-en-Saulnois Wind Turbine Decommissioning

CLIENT: Cube Green Energy

The dismantling of a severely damaged 100 m-high wind turbine at Fresnes-en-Saulnois, France, used a crane-free methodology developed as an alternative to conventional crawler crane-based decommissioning.

Cardem

The approach combined drone-assisted inspection and cable installation, computer-controlled remote oxy-cutting (TACLES), structural engineering, remote-controlled equipment and cable-assisted controlled felling. This allowed the turbine to be dismantled without heavy lifting cranes while maintaining control of the structure during the demolition sequence.

Eliminating the crawler crane also reduced heavy transport movements, fuel consumption, the site footprint and disturbance to surrounding agricultural land. Environmental measures included the recovery of composite blade debris, dust and pollution controls, and waste traceability. The project generated approximately 466.6 tonnes of waste, all of which was directed to recovery or recycling routes, with 73.1% directly recycled and no material sent to landfill.

DESPE (Italy)

PROJECT: Gela Power Station Pontiletto Dismantling and Demolition

CLIENT: Eni Rewind

The dismantling of the Pontiletto jetty at Gela Power Station required a methodology designed to protect the surrounding marine and coastal environment. The structure comprised around 14 pipelines supported by steel structures extending 300 m into the sea and resting on reinforced concrete supports.

Despe

Preliminary works included removing pipework and technical lines, surveying the seabed by ROV and extracting residual process fluids discovered within the pipelines. Reinforced concrete sections were cut into controlled blocks using diamond-tipped tools and diamond wire, secured with slings and lifted by crane from a barge before being transferred ashore for processing and material recovery.

An 18 x 6 m containment tank was positioned on a vessel to capture potential spills or debris, supported by floating booms, skimmers, collection tanks and absorbent materials. Vessel movements were also controlled to protect nearby populations of Cymodocea nodosa seagrass.

The winner will be announced on 5 November at the World Demolition Summit in Madrid, Spain.

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