Old wind turbine blades get new spin, as businesses turn problem into opportunity
Researchers and entrepreneurs are exploring new ways to keep retired blades out of landfills.
Recyclable flooring panels. Material for large-scale 3D printing. A coating that can make concrete waterproof.
Twenty companies across the country just received $75,000 each from the Department of Energy to turn recycled wind turbine blades into those and other products.
Up to 90% of the mass of a wind turbine is made of materials such as steel and copper that can be recycled. But the same features that make turbine blades good at generating energy, even in harsh desert environments, also create a conundrum for what to do with them when they come down.
The blades can be as long as a football field. And they’re made of a tough but pliable mix of resin and fiberglass that’s so far proven virtually impossible to separate.