Article originally published by Energy News
Wind turbine blades are piled up outside a former Maytag plant in central Iowa where a company hopes to help recycle them into a wide range of products.
Global Fiberglass Solutions, based in Washington state, has devised a way to slice up retired wind turbine blades into tiny pellets that can then be molded into products such as boards, furniture and packaging. The company already has a factory in Sweetwater, Texas, and it hopes to be producing pellets in Newton, Iowa, about 30 miles east of Des Moines, by the end of the year…
Wind turbine blades are made of inert and stable materials, largely fiberglass, carbon fibers and balsa wood. They take up space but don’t pose a particular environmental threat when placed in landfills. Still, the industry is trying to move toward greater recyclability, said Greg Alvarez, a spokesperson for the American Wind Energy Association. One manufacturer, Vestas, has announced it wants its turbines to be completely recyclable by 2040…