Wind turbine blade removal machine

Who is destroying wind turbine blades?

“The problem is the U.S. dove into wind energy, never considering the end of life of those components and where they would go. It was always going to be someone else’s problem.” Enter Sean Baisden, the owner of Pitbull Blade Demolition, who was tasked to destroy the thousands of wind turbine blades that are decommissioned each year.

Can decommissioned turbine blades be recycled?

Following a successful trial at Enva’s facility in Ayrshire, Enva is now rolling out a solution for wind power producers that will see decommissioned turbine blades crushed and shredded to enable the recovery of recyclable materials such as steel.

How are wind turbine blades manufactured?

Wind turbine blades are manufactured from fiberglass using a mold, similar to the way many yachts and boats are made. The root end of the blade is a composite of fiberglass embedded with metal blocks, each containing a female thread. This critical part of the blade is where it is bolted onto the rotating hub.

How long does it take to shred a wind turbine blade?

“An average blade takes about two to three hours to shred,” Baisden says, “and it’s shredded down into sub-four-inch pieces. We then supply these shreds to REGEN Fiber, a new company in Iowa that recycles them for reuse as raw materials in various industries. So, none of the material whatsoever goes to the landfill from the wind turbine [blade].”

Does ENVA recycle wind turbine blades?

Michelle Scott, Operations Director, Enva says, “Enva is committed to bringing at least one new recycling process to market every year and the opening of our wind turbine blade recycling facility is another tangible example of this innovation and investment.

Can SSI shred wind turbine blades?

To keep his costs down, Baisden needed a machine that was capable of shredding the blades while remaining small enough to move from wind farm to wind farm. He reached out to SSI Shredding Systems who went on to design the solution to this growing waste problem. On-site with an industrial shredder processing wind turbine blades