Wind Power

Avangrid partners with startup for wind turbine recycling process

Avangrid partners with startup for wind turbine recycling process
Avangrid recently donated 300 pounds of decommissioned wind turbine blades to WindLoop to test recycling process (Credit: Avangrid)

Avangrid announced that it recently donated 300 pounds of decommissioned wind turbine blades to WindLoop, a startup comprising of students at Yale University, to test a process for blade recycling.

“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.”

Wind turbine blade recycling has long been a challenge in the industry due to the high costs associated with transporting blades and the difficulty extracting blade materials – including glass fiber and epoxy resin – in a way that they can be reused. The donated turbine blades came from Avangrid’s Baffin wind farm in Kenedy County, Texas.

“For a future powered by solar, wind, and energy storage, we need to minimize waste and ensure that materials are recycled for the next wave of clean energy manufacturing,” Shubh Jain, CEO and cofounder of WindLoop. “Currently, there is no large-scale industrial process for recycling wind turbine blades, and companies are facing increasing pressure to find recycling facilities that offer circular recycling solutions. WindLoop seeks to bridge this gap. Avangrid’s support is essential for WindLoop to carry out advanced R&D and bring its novel recycling process for wind turbine blades to market. Our shared commitment to developing a circular economy for wind energy in America makes this partnership especially promising.”

WindLoop’s strategy includes two parts. It incorporates an on-site blade shredder which the company says has been shown to reduce transportation costs associated with moving materials from a wind farm to a recycling facility. The company says it has also developed a process, using green chemistry principles, to separate the fibers and resin in blades. WindLoop claims its novel solution can recover over 90% of turbine blade material and 97% of the overall value of the turbine blades.

“Sustainability is at the core of every decision we make at Avangrid, and serves as a guiding principle in our business,” said Laney Brown, vice president of sustainability at Avangrid. “Blade recycling is a key component to the sustainable use of resources as we support the clean energy transition. We are pleased to work with forward-thinkers like WindLoop to develop circular solutions that minimize environmental impacts in our industry.”

WindLoop’s team consists of four students at Yale School of the Environment in Connecticut, near Avangrid’s company headquarters.

As wind turbines reach the end of their operational lives, the disposal and recycling of wind turbine blades can become a complex issue. These blades, often made from composite materials like carbon fiber or glass, are challenging to recycle using conventional methods, often leading to considerable waste.

The wind energy manufacturing industry also depends on critical minerals, such as rare earth elements (including neodymium and dysprosium), which do not currently have domestic commercial-scale recycling options. 

Due to their large size and durable composition, finding sustainable solutions for handling used wind turbines is crucial. Landfill disposal has been a common approach, but this method presents a different set of environmental and lifecycle cost challenges. 

Wind turbines have an operational lifespan of several decades, so waste management during decommissioning is a long-term consideration. Waste regulation aims to address concerns related to the disposal, recycling, and environmental impact of wind turbine components at the end of their useful life. 

Because the wind energy industry is relatively young, U.S. wind farm operators and policymakers have yet to encounter decommissioning challenges. 

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