Avangrid partners with WindLoop to test wind blade recycling

Avangrid Inc. (Orange, Conn., U.S.), a sustainable energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group (Bilbao, Spain), has recently donated 300 pounds of decommissioned wind turbine blades to WindLoop, a startup comprising of students at Yale University (New Haven, Conn., U.S.), to test an innovative process for blade recycling. Consistent with Avangrid’s commitment to sustainability, WindLoop’s mission is to build a circular economy for the wind industry by recycling wind turbine components.

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

WindLoop’s strategy includes two parts. It incorporates an on-site blade shredder, which has reportedly been shown to significantly reduce transportation costs from wind farm to recycling facility. The company has also developed a process, using green chemistry principles, to effectively separate the fibers and resin in blades. WindLoop’s solution is said to recover more than 90% of turbine blade material and 97% of the overall value of the turbine blades.

“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,” says Shubh Jain, CEO and co-founder 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.”

Engaging in a circular economy is one of the top three environmental priorities for Avangrid, resulting in a plan to recycle 100% of the company’s decommissioned wind turbine blades by 2030.

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