A photograph from Wyoming, in the United States, reached Spain and showed a problem. It was that of the “cemeteries” of the windmill blades that are buried underground because it is much more costly than recycling them. Despite the fact that the photograph had been taken thousands of kilometers away, in Spain that image was shared on social networks and articles were published explaining how the recycling of wind turbines worked. Of all the installation, the most complicated thing is to give a second life to the blades. In Spain there is no evidence of the presence of “cemeteries” as in the United States, but the recycling of the structure is emerging as one of the challenges of the wind energy industry. A challenge for which, in some respects, we are not prepared.
Until now, the recycling of windmill blades may have gone unnoticed because it was not a problem that would affect immediately and because, in addition, it is not so great if we compare it with other sectors such as the automobile. Wind turbines have a useful life of 20 to 25 years (up to 30 in some cases, if some components are replaced) and it has not been necessary to change the structure. However, that date is getting closer every day in many cases and in Spain some wind farms, such as Malpica, in Galicia, have already been repowered (the term for the modernization of wind turbines).
Thousands of blades in the wind
When a plant is modernized, what do we do with the shovels that can measure 20 meters in height? The ideal is to give it a second life and, despite the fact that technology advances and resources increase, it is difficult to know if Spain is ready to take on the recycling of windmill blades.
Difficult to know because it will be thousands of blades. In Spain, the Asociación Empresarial Eólica (AEE) numbers 1,265 wind farms in Spain. In total, there are 21,419 wind turbines, each with three blades. Therefore, in our country it is estimated that there are currently 64,257 blades that, sooner or later, will have to be changed. “We have no evidence that there is a shovel graveyard in Spain as in other countries. Perhaps a shovel has been taken to a landfill but not on a large scale as the images show,” said Tomás Romagosa, PREPA technical director. Instead, many wind turbine blades that have had to be replaced so far have gone into the second-hand market.
Some blades have been sold on the second-hand market after repowering wind farms
As the number of windmill blades that have to be replaced increases, it will be more difficult for the second-hand market to position itself as a solution. Recycling is the best option. In the European Union they have approved several projects and grants in this regard: Life-BRIO and Horizon are two of them, some grants have been catalyzed through the Circular Economy Action Plan 2021-2023, as well as research carried out within the CSIC. The goal is to find the technology that can eliminate the environmental footprint of a blade from wind energy.
A Spanish idea … outside of Spain
We have the talent and even the technology at our fingertips, but the shadow of the bureaucracy once again looms over Spain. Alex Costa is the co-founder of Ventos Metódicos, a Spanish blood company born in Portugal. Born in 2019, it turns windmill blades into lamps, chairs or shelves. The objective is to make use of absolutely all the material without resorting to chemical processes which, in the end, are also pollutants even though the final objective is recycling. A Spanish idea that has worked outside of Spain . “We are Spanish, but we went to Portugal to create the company for three reasons: the first, bureaucratic agility,” Costa explained in an interview with Hypertextual.
The wind energy waste management license was obtained in the neighboring country in 8 months. “We would have gotten that same license, had we done so, in about 3 or 4 years ,” he said. Even in countries like Portugal, very few have been granted because it is a “new” problem, although the aid encourages progress in this regard.
Hence the second reason why Ventos Metódicos was not created in Spain. “The aid that the Government is giving is not much less significant despite the fact that we have a Ministry of Ecological Transition,” he said in an interview. On the other hand, aid from the Government of Portugal has allowed the company to have a subsidy that has allowed them to develop all their activity. “The third reason is to have suitable facilities and Portugal allowed us to do so,” concluded Alex Costa.
The wind turbine, with no regulations in sight Ventos Metódicos has worked in countries such as France or Germany. They are contacted by a wind farm to convert the windmill blades that they have to modernize into office furniture. The co-founder of the company recalled that in these countries they have approved guidelines that require parks wind energy companies and companies have a certificate stating that the wind turbine blades have been recycled once removed. “If not, they are fined or have to pay a significant amount of money for damage to the environment,” he clarified. This measure is not part, for now, of a common European guideline that has to be applied in the member countries.
“Unfortunately, at this moment the governments are not fully aware of this type of recycling because they still do not see it as a problem.” Alex Costa explained that there are grants but that these, in the case of Spain, are more focused on research than on business or industrial development.
“Spain has to put the batteries together because if a company that pretended to be national has to go to a foreign country to start a company, that is significant. There is a lot of bureaucratic obstacles, also judicial because we come from a government that was against renewable energies and that has to be solved. I understand that it has to be a gradual process but without resting on our laurels because the problem is going to be greater. “
Alex Costa, co-founder of Ventos Metódicos
The history of Reciclalia (this time, in Spain)
Reciclalia is the only company in Spain with a license to manage windmill blade waste. Its technology allows the fiberglass or carbon fiber from the wind turbine blade to be crushed and separated so that it can be reused later. In their case, they have lived the Spanish bureaucracy in their own flesh.
“Undoubtedly, and as we all know, the bureaucracy is 'faced' with the start of any new activity. But this problem is aggravated and multiplied, when we speak of a new technology, therefore unknown by most of our officials “, commented to Hipertextual Alfonso Bernabé, CEO of Reciclalia. “This situation is considerably complicated in our country, which with 17 Autonomous Communities and has as many different laws,” he added.
In the case of the Spanish company, they obtained the license in Castilla La Mancha but, as the CEO of the company commented, it has been and is being a difficult process to be able to dedicate itself to the recycling of the blades of a wind turbine. In the first place, and in accordance with the statements of Alex Costa, Bernabé made reference to the institutional obstacles . “The problem is none other than the administrative deadlines and that these are not in tune with the deadlines of the companies, especially in their first years of activity,” he said.
Wind turbine blades: just investments Another challenge is investment. As of today, only the CEO of Reciclalia and his two partners are the shareholders of the company. Now they are negotiating with large multinationals to close investments but, yes, “after these 10 years we have assumed all the risk of our new development,” warned Bernabé.
Added to all this is the difficulty for the players in the wind energy market, the multinationals, to be aware of the importance of the changes with regard to environmental reality. But, once understood, the problem does not end.
“Once you have managed to get these large multinationals to understand and take interest in your technological proposal, we find ourselves with a new problem, directly related to the volumes of supplies that they need and that must be guaranteed. Normally, they ask you to work with some capabilities that your company has not yet managed to reach, precisely due to lack of investment. The famous whiting that bites its tail … “
Alfonso Bernabé, CEO of Reciclalia Reciclalia has received support from the Ministry of Economy and Industry, ENISA and programs such as REINDUS. Bernabé agreed with Ventos Metódicos that the aids related to wind energy are more focused on research than on business development . “Investments in research are smaller amounts and easier to finance. While the start-up of industrial equipment, a result of the development of this research, are much higher investments and investors much more difficult to find”, stressed the CEO of Reclalia. Added to all this is the economic situation and the global pandemic.
Windmills attract talent
Despite the difficulties, there is no shortage of initiatives. This is the case of the research team of Félix Antonio López, CSIC researcher and Head of the Recycling Laboratory, who has also collaborated with Reciclalia for the development of its technology. They began to worry about this issue 10 years ago, when recycling windmill blades seemed like a thing of the future but it was pointing to be a problem.
The CSIC team is behind the R3FIBER technology, a process by which they manage to obtain reusable carbon or glass fibers. And the problem is not in the wind turbines (about 80% is made of recyclable material), but in the blades. These are made from various materials but the main problem resides in fiberglass or carbon.
The technology they developed is based on crushing and thermochemical treatment of the windmill blade once the size has already been reduced. In an interview with Hypertextual, Félix Antonio López explained that the thermochemical treatment allows the compounds of the blade to be converted into heat and the “clean” fiberglass is acquired for its commercialization. The technology is managed by Thermal Recycling of Composites (TRC), a spin-off company of the CSIC.
Little benefit, few companies We have the technology, now we just need to implement it at a general level. “Fiberglass has a small market and a lower value than carbon.” This is the one that is beginning to be replaced in the market, although for now most of the blades that are being replaced are still made of glass .
The economic benefit is now scarce and that has caused the appearance of companies to be limited
“The recycling processes that have a cost, in the case of fiberglass, makes the business profit considerably lower than when carbon fiber blades are recycled,” he added. In summary, Félix Antonio López summarized that since the benefit is scarce, the appearance of companies is limited at this time.
The regulation -or rather, the lack of it- makes it even more difficult . For the recycling of windmill blades there is currently no regulation as there is in the case of other waste such as tires, with an integrated management system. The key at this time is also to know who has to pay for recycling. “Does the producer have to pay? Does the shovel, the owner of the park, have to have a public, state or regional subsidy for companies to be interested in it? The key is economic rather than technological, “stated López.
Second-hand market is not the solution
Until now, the wind turbine blades that have been replaced have been absorbed, in part, by the second-hand market. The main objective is to sell the windmills that are still working in countries that have less developed parks and a less evolved wind energy industry. The other use is to have spare parts of the same models in other parks. Selling the wind turbines to other countries that are starting to bet on wind energy is a good way to try to give a second life to the most difficult to recycle parts of wind turbines, such as blades. But it is not the definitive solution.
First, as the need to change wind turbines increases, it will be more difficult for the second-hand market to absorb all the demand . Second, this is a way to lengthen the problem, which will end up anyway. The facilities have been sold to countries in North Africa, Central Europe and also to some countries of the European Union. But the time will come when these wind turbines reach the end of their useful life.
If it has been sold to a European country, it is possible that the technology to recycle the windmill blades and possible future legislation will prevent them from ending up in a landfill. But that does not happen in other countries. For example, if wind turbines are sold to countries in North Africa or that are not part of the EU, what guarantees are there that the management of this waste will be carried out in an appropriate way? There are not. “We do not know what happens after that sale in those countries. We do not have a subsequent follow-up,” acknowledged AEE.
The wind turbine, harmless to the environment environment
There is a possibility that in one of these countries, the blades of the windmills are not recycled. PREPA, together with its European counterpart WindEurope, asked the European Council to prohibit shovels from being thrown into the landfill in 2025. Although they also noted that in Spain it is not considered a toxic material and that it is harmless for the environment because it does not produce toxic leaks in the aquifers. When compared to the plastics industry, shovel recycling is just the tip of the iceberg.
“The weight of all the shovels that should be recycled during a year is only 1.4% of the weight of all the containers that are not recycled in Spain,” said Tomás Romagosa, technical director of PREPA. But the photograph of the shovel “graveyards” attracts a lot of attention, he added.
Compared to plastic, the waste that comes from wind energy is less, but that does not mean that it is not a problem. In addition to the more than 60,000 blades in Spain -and which will have to be changed at some point-, others will be added due to the commitment to go from 28 GW to 50 GW of energy installations renewable in 2030. However, wind farms that have already been repowered have installed larger and more powerful wind turbines.
Size matters in wind power According to Romagosa, the Malpica wind farm went from having 69 small wind turbines to 11 large ones , which managed to cover the same power. Thus, the residual will be less. “We are aware of the issue and there is a very strong commitment to the environment. We are a technology that was born to decarbonise the economy (…) and we do not want to be seen as part of the problem,” said PREPA's technical director .
Experts agree that the crux of the matter is not only the environmental issue, but the legislation related to wind energy. As currently proposed, the recycling of these materials is not taken into account.
Wind turbine blades are waste 'that did not exist 15 years ago'
Basically, it is left to the choice of the company or wind farm that manages the wind turbines. “We can find ourselves with a small collapse (always talking about the collapse of the sector) due to the impossibility of recycling all those shovels (…) They are waste that 15 years ago did not exist “, said Alex Costa .
For this reason, Alfonso Bernabé, CEO of Reciclalia, opined that beyond the ban on dumping, measures could be adopted by the Government such as tax incentives for wind energy companies that opt for solutions environmentally sustainable in the development of their activity, “such as recycling instead of throwing away”.
The good side of wind turbines
Félix Antonio López, for his part, sees a good side. In which in a few years, when more windmill blades have been replaced, the sector is activated and more and more companies are dedicated to it. “Other initiatives may arise that allow greater competitiveness, “he said.
That is why it is important to encourage support for initiatives related to wind waste management. The figures speak for themselves : The Wind Business Association estimated that about 25,000 tons of wind turbine blades will become waste. Only in Spain. By 2050, the number of waste worldwide from the wind industry could exceed 43 million tons.
