We’re excited to share our new video showing a lighthearted overview on wind turbine recycling. 

Wind turbines allow us to convert the wind’s kinetic energy into clean electricity, but the last stage of their life cycle must also be considered.  In the video above, we show a lighthearted overview of wind turbine recycling. In this video, we highlight the different parts of a wind turbine and some of the common recycling strategies for each one.

So, wind turbines are a great source of clean energy. But what happens to them when they get old? A turbine has a normal lifespan of 20 to 30 years. So, a wind turbine that was new in 2004 will be ready for decommissioning in about 2030 and just won’t fit in your recycling can. So, what do we do with them?

• Option 1 – Can we just throw them away in a landfill? As humans we throw away a lot of trash. Like, 140 million tons/year in the US. That’s a lot.

• Option 2 - A better way leads us to option 2, that would be recycling. Everybody loves the idea of recycling, but is it practical for wind turbines?Wind turbine owners and operators all care about the environment too. But they also need to worry about how much time and money this is all going to cost. There are 4 parts (well, big parts) to a wind turbine:

1. The tower

2. The nacelle

3. The blades

4. And the foundation

Let’s explore these in more detail.

1. Let’s start with the tower - Most towers are made of steel sections, like a stack of metal cans which can be easily recycled.

2. The second part is the nacelle - Now, the nacelle is not too bad because the interior parts like the generator and gears are made of metals that can be recycled. The exterior shell is steel and fiberglass and that makes it harder to recycle. One Dutch company had the innovative idea to take the streamlined pods and make them into tiny houses.

3. How about the blades? The blades are usually the hardest part because there are just so many of them. The blades get the most damage because of the constant battle with the wind and weather. This causes some of the blades to wear out prematurely and need to be replaced. Some people have found innovative uses for old blades, like turning them into bridges and making playground equipment out of them. Blades can also be ground up and used to strengthen concrete. Some new processes can break down existing blades which can be reused to make new turbine blades. This process is usually expensive but somewhat offset because you don’t have to use as much raw new material. New technology is also experimenting with creating parts from more recyclable materials such as biodegradable fibers and resins which will help recycling right from the beginning.

4. And the foundation? The foundation is mostly made up of concrete reinforced with steel bars. The concrete can be broken up and used to make roads and new concrete while the steel can be recycled. The biggest problem with the foundation is – It’s in the ground. Now we could just dig it up. This disturbs the land around it and is pretty expensive. Or, we could just leave it alone. This is not such a bad idea environmentally as the foundation does not damage the land and water around it. But it’s not good if we want to reuse the land for uses such as farming. The compromise that is often used is to break up the top 3-5 feet of the foundation and leave the rest of it in the ground. This allows other land uses over the top of it.

5. In conclusion - Wind turbines can be a recycling challenge. Some of the parts can be easily recycled while others are much more difficult. The good news is: recycling and reuse methods are already being used and new technologies may help by starting with more recyclable materials or better methods to break down and reuse them.