About the Course
The rapid growth of wind energy brings with it a pressing challenge: how to manage turbines and entire wind farms as they approach the end of their design life. With many assets now surpassing 20 to 25 years of operation, decisions around lifetime extension, repowering, or decommissioning have become critical. These choices require a careful balance of technical feasibility, financial performance, regulatory compliance, and sustainability.
Over five weeks, participants will build a comprehensive understanding of wind farm end-of-life management through a structured progression of methods and case perspectives.
The course follows a structured five-week progression:
Wind Turbine Lifetime and End-of-Life Overview: what defines the design lifetime of wind assets, what happens at end of life, typical EoL pathways, and how many onshore and offshore turbines are expected to reach EoL by 2030.
Technical Basis for Lifetime Extension: the technical requirements for lifetime extension, including load assumptions, fatigue damage, component degradation, remaining useful life estimation, and the additional challenges of extending operation.
Economics of Lifetime Extension and Decommissioning: the economic drivers for lifetime extension, cash-flow models, LCOE and NPV calculation, decommissioning impacts, and uncertainty in cost components.
Regulation and Procedures for Lifetime Extension: rules, guidelines, and practical procedures for lifetime extension of onshore wind in Denmark and Germany, and offshore wind at the European level.
Recycling, Policy, and Circularity of Wind Turbines: EoL recycling pathways, policy challenges, recyclability rates (including EN 45 555), and available recycling technologies, focusing on blades and magnets and their advantages and limitations.
Course Modules
This course is designed around five thematic modules, with one key theme covered each week.
1.
Understanding the End-of-Life Challenge.
2.
Policy, Regulation and Certification.
3.
Technical Strategies and Circularity Pathways.
4.
Useful Life Estimation and Decision Support.
5.
Business Models, Risk and Strategic Planning.
Course Highlights
Here are the key highlights of the program, designed to give you a clear picture of what sets this course apart and how it can strengthen your expertise in wind energy.
Delivered by DTU, the global leader in wind energy research and education, drawing on decades of experience and close collaboration with industry.
Tailored for engineers, project developers, policymakers, and consultants who want to deepen their expertise in wind farm end-of-life management.
Teaching is grounded in academic excellence and international leadership, drawing directly on DTU’s role at the forefront of global best practices through IEA Wind projects— including leadership in lifetime extension and blade recycling (IEA Wind Task 42). Participants benefit from real‑world case studies that translate cutting‑edge research into practical, applicable knowledge.
After this course, you can
Explain and contextualise the end-of-life phase of wind assets, including design lifetime assumptions, expected end-of-life volumes, and typical decision pathways.
Analyse and apply methods to assess structural integrity, lifetime consumption, and remaining useful life of wind turbines.
Analyse economic drivers and apply models (e.g. LCoE, NPV, cash-flow) to evaluate lifetime extension and decommissioning decisions.
Analyse policy, regulatory, and technical constraints influencing recycling, decommissioning, and lifetime extension strategies across different markets.
Evaluate and compare end-of-life strategies (lifetime extension, recycling, and reuse) by integrating technical, economic, environmental, and uncertainty considerations.
The course runs over 5 weeks from 7 September to 15 October 2026 (weeks 37–42), with one module for each week.
Participants should expect an average time commitment of 4-5 hours per week, including:
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Self-paced study (videos, readings and exercises)
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Weekly live sessions for discussion and clarification
Live sessions are recorded and take place on Thursdays at 09:00–10:00 and 15:00–16:00 CET, covering the same content:
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10 September 2026
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17 September 2026
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24 September 2026
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1 October 2026
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8 October 2026
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15 October 2026
The course is designed to be flexible, allowing participants to engage with learning materials at their own pace and according to their schedule. All core content remains available throughout the course, enabling participants to revisit materials as needed.
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No prerequisites.
The course is delivered online in a structured format, combining self-paced study with interactive live sessions to support flexible and engaging learning.
Self-paced learning includes:
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Short video lectures introducing key concepts and methods
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Curated readings and real-world examples from wind energy
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Practical Excel-based exercises and quizzes for hands-on learning
Interactive live sessions focus on:
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Walkthroughs and discussion of exercises and results
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Interpretation of key models (e.g. lifetime, LCoE, recycling)
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Q&A and exchange of practical experiences
The course is organised into five modules, moving from understanding end-of-life challenges to evaluating and comparing management strategies.
All materials are available online throughout the course, allowing participants to learn flexibly and revisit content as needed.
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Certificate of Attendance issued by DTU upon completion of the course.
Key Information
Meet your teachers
Learn from world-class researchers and passionate educators who bring cutting-edge expertise and hands-on experience into the classroom.
Athanasios Kolios
Professor and Head of Section
Athanasios Kolios is Professor and Head of Section in the Department of Wind and Energy Systems at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). An internationally recognised authority in risk management, reliability engineering, and offshore energy systems...
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Mohit Sharma
Senior Vice Presiden at Marubeni Corporation
Singapore
“Solid and comprehensive overview!”
"For anyone considering a career transition, this course offers a solid and comprehensive overview of wind energy. It equips you with the essential knowledge and skills needed to smoothly transition into the wind energy field."
Sophie Yin
Renewables Engineer, Woodside Energy
Australia
“Flexible learning with outstanding support!”
“What I enjoy the most about the programme is the flexibility. I have been able to access the content around other aspects of my life, which has been very valuable. Also, the lecturers have made them available to the students online to answer questions and actually provide knowledge beyond the course, which I really enjoyed.”
Fahd Outailleur
Head of Engineering at Enel Green Power
Morocco
“Europe’s leader in wind energy”
“I chose to enrol in this wind energy master's program because DTU is the leading technical university in Europe, renowned for its specialization in wind energy. The program reflects the state of the art of the sector. Before joining, I knew some of their software programmes like WAsP and the Global Wind Atlas. So I was confident about the quality of the training.”
Testimonials
Discover what DTU students have to say about their journey, their experiences, and the skills they’ve gained.
Financing Options
We offer a range of discounts and packages to make the programme more accessible.
Early Bird Discount
Register before 01 December
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