‘Circularity’: Recyling wind-turbine blades

Wind turbine at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, in the town of Buzzards Bay.

Edited from a New England Council report.

BOSTON

“Avangrid, which is based in Orange, Conn., has begun working with a student-led startup from Yale University on an initiative to recycle wind-turbine blades. According to Avangrid, the company has donated 300 pounds of decommissioned wind-turbine blades to the startup, WindLoop.  

“The blades are recycled using a process that allows 90 percent of the material, including glass fiber and epoxy resin, to be reused. This process is very useful, because wind turbines need blade replacements every 10 to 15 years. The blades donated by Avangrid came from the company’s wind farm in Kenedy County, Texas. Avangrid said that it plans to recycle 100 percent of its decommissioned wind-turbine blades by 2030.  

“‘Avangrid is one of America’s most innovative leaders in renewable energy, and this is yet another example of our forward-thinking approach to accelerating a clean energy transition across the United States,’ said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. ‘We recognize the great challenges in front of us, and we are helping lay the groundwork to find new and efficient methods to recycle blades that will improve the circularity of our industry.”’ 

Illustration of a wind turbine for power generation erected by Josef Friedlaender at the International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna in 1883.