Europe found a clever new job for dead wind turbines, and the US is copying it
Researchers are repurposing decommissioned wind turbine blades into structural girders for pedestrian bridges to solve the problem of non-recyclable fiberglass waste. This initiative, which began in Ireland, is now being implemented in the United States to reduce landfill impact.
Why it matters
Finding sustainable end-of-life solutions for renewable energy infrastructure is critical for the long-term viability of green energy.
Wind energy has always carried an awkward secret. The turbine blades that spin cleanly for two decades are a nightmare to get rid of once they stop. They're built from reinforced fiberglass, which resists recycling in a way the rest of the turbine doesn't—roughly 90% of a wind turbine is recyclable, according to the US Department of Energy, but the blades keep landing on the wrong side of that number.That gap has handed critics of wind power an easy talking point for years. Now a fix that took shape in Ireland back in 2019 is quietly answering it, and it's showing up on American soil.
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