Recycling wind turbine blades

Abstract

Wind turbines generated roughly 6% of the world’s electricity in 2020. Industry analysts predict that number will grow by more than 6% annually this decade. As the wind industry grows, so does the number of aging and damaged turbine blades that are being decommissioned and replaced with larger, more efficient ones. In the US alone, some 8,000 blades were pulled down in 2021. Most blades were landfilled because there wasn’t much else that could be done with them. But several companies are working on ways to recycle the enormous blades by shredding them and reusing the fiberglass and plastic resin to make cement, tough industrial plastics, and other products. Further advances in recycling technology along with changes in blade materials and recycling economics may be needed to deal with used blades on a global scale sustainably. Bob Cappadona laughs as he recalls an inquiry in 2020 from General Electric about