Pope reported in late September 2024 that in Oklahoma, as the wind sweeps down the plain, it glides through dozens of wind farms. But what happens when the turbines on those farms are no longer in service? A new recycling center has opened in northwestern Oklahoma to give them new life.
Paul Brown, CEO of Woodbridge Advanced Solutions, walks through the piles of cut-up
wind turbine blades outside Oklahoma's first recycling plant for the wings.
Outside a massive metal building in Woodward, Paul Brown weaves through stacked piles of old, beat-up wind turbine blades. Some from California were dropped off earlier in the morning They may weigh two tons,” Brown said. “And then the biggest ones are 17 and a half tons each.”
But the blades are not going to stay in piles. Brown is CEO of Woodbridge Advanced Solutions, a wind turbine recycling company that recently opened Oklahoma’s first wind turbine recycling center. He said it’s expected to bring about 60 to 70 jobs. Right now, it’s being renovated, but Brown sees opportunity.
“I mean, it's really limitless on the different products that we can do,” Brown said. “And then we will also do spray-up and lay-up manufacturing so like with fiberglass enclosed trailers, you could do pools, hot tubs.”
Although wind turbine towers can last up to three decades, the wings have a lifespan of about 20 years. Some are replaced after just 10 years to increase energy production, get tax incentives or extend a project’s life. When the blades need to be replaced, they are taken down and later sorted at the facility.
They are cut into smaller pieces, hoisted into a large metal machine and shredded into mulch-like bits. The mulch goes into a recycling mill, where it’s broken down even further into fiber that can be used in products like concrete.
Wind turbine blades are cut up before put through the center's machine
Anna Pope/KOSU
“And then we have taken some of the big root ends and made livestock tanks out of those,” Brown said.
Oklahoma ranks third in the nation in wind energy production, behind Texas and Iowa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. Wind Turbine Database shows about 5,500 commercial wind turbines in the state. That’s more than 16,500 blades twirling in the breeze.
On a national level, roughly 10,000 to 20,000 blades annually are expected to reach the end of their life span from between 2025 and 2040. All the blades will need to go somewhere.
At the end of the process, the wind turbine blades are reduced to fluff-like material.
Anna Pope/KOSU
Scott Greene is a professor in the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability and the former director of the Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative. He helped lobby for and promote wind energy in the state
“2003 was when the first wind farms were put up and, at the time, I think it was, ‘Well, you know, the life cycle is 20 to 30 years. And we'll kind of worry about it 20 to 30 years from now,’” Greene said.
Wind turbine waste is a problem that will only grow. Geene said a recycling plant open in the state now is important for a couple of reasons.
“One is just practical, we don't want to waste it,” Greene said. “You know, we don't want to waste things if we don't have to waste them. The other thing is, we're starting to get to the point of the end of life cycle.”
About 90% of the wind turbines are made from materials that can be commercially recycled, but the rest of it is tricky. The materials that make up other parts of the turbine like the blades and nacelle covers, the bick-like box on the top of the tower that houses the gearbox, are made of fiber-reinforced composites such as fiber and fiberglass. While most companies shred or burn the materials, some people have tried to keep the blades intact to save energy and build things like bridges.
Outside of Oklahoma, some wind turbine recycling companies have not recycled the blades, leading to wind turbine graveyards. Follow through of the companies Greene said, is one of the biggest challenges.
For wind energy companies, he said there is an increased interest in recycling.
"But in general, they strongly view themselves as environmentally-friendly companies, which means that they are concerned about the optics of the graveyards, I would say, as much as anything else,” Greene said. “Meaning they don't want to be seen as a company that's dumping waste, because that's not, kind of, their core corporate mindset."
Wind turbines spin in an Oklahoma field.
Bryan Bechtold/ NREL/ U.S. Department of Energy
Mark Yates, the executive director of Advanced Power Alliance for Oklahoma, said the number of discarded blades will grow as more wind farms get repowered.
“Because, at the end of the day, you want to get more efficiency, more power, with better blades, better nacelles,” Yates said.
It is cheaper to throw away blades than recycle them. But Yates said the market is in its infancy and thinks states want to ensure less blades are in landfills.
Oklahoma passed a law requiring wind turbine recycling companies to file financial assurance with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Yates said he would like to see the policy replicated nationwide to keep companies accountable.
“I do think public policy can absolutely accelerate the need for companies to find solutions, and you may see that play out over the course of time across the country,” Yates said.
Brown advocated for the law while he was CEO of Advanced 4 Solutions, one of the three companies that combined to make Woodbridge Advanced Solutions.
“And biggest thing is, you know, do what we say we're going to do,” Brown said. “Say what you mean, mean what you say, and follow through. And that's one of the things that seems to be lacking now, is the follow through with what you're claiming to do.”
Although blade shredding is an emerging strategy, there’s interest in different ways to recycle and make blades.
Wind turbine blades are brought to the recycling center in larger portions.
Anna Pope/KOSU
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technology Office started the Wind Turbine Materials Recycling Prize in 2023. The prize is to help the nation create cost-effective and sustainable industry for the two unrecycled wind-turbine materials.
In Woodward, Brown walks through room after room of the massive center. From the building’s porch, wind ripples through the grass as turbines spin in the distance.
Brown said his company can adapt to changes in the market. After all, he has big plans for this place.
“So, there's a lot of space. A year from now, this will look a lot different than what it does right now,” Brown said.
For him, recycling and making products from those materials has more potential.
“And manufacturing-wise, we believe that somebody at a certain point will come to us and go, ‘Hey, can you make this widget, whatever, out of recycled material?’” Brown said.
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