Renewable energy, or green energy, is believed to be the most sustainable solution and also the future of tomorrow.Production of energy through windmills is among the most popular and results-driven choices.But what happens when the equipment becomes obsolete?Have you ever thought about how those parts are recycled or disposed of?Wind energy has run into exactly this dilemma. The turbines themselves are mostly fine to deal with once retired, but one particular part has become a genuine headache for engineers and environmentalists.In order to solve this issue, turbines came to be used as a quiet greenway in Ireland, where old wind turbine parts found a new job, helping people walk across a river.Let’s dig in to find out how
What happens when wind turbines retire?
Wind turbines typically operate for 20 to 25 years before they’re retired, largely because their parts endure constant, high-level stress while spinning. Maintenance costs climb steadily as a turbine ages, and eventually it simply costs more to keep repairing the unit than to take it down altogether.
The blades are the hardest part to deal with
While nearly 90% of a wind turbine’s components are recyclable, according to the US Department of Energy, the blades are a different story. Built from reinforced fiberglass, they’re notoriously difficult to break down, which left the industry searching for smarter ways to give them a second life instead of simply discarding them.
It all started in Ireland when a retired turbine became a bridge!
The idea of reusing old blades as pedestrian bridge girders took shape in Ireland back in 2019, eventually growing into a venture called BladeBridge. That effort led to the formation of the Re-Wind Network, a research collaboration involving Georgia Institute of Technology, University College Cork, Queen’s University Belfast, City University New York, Munster Technological University, University College Dublin, and BladeBridge itself.In early 2022, the network completed a working pedestrian bridge in Cork, using two decommissioned blades as girders, with the tip of each blade buried underground for added support, according to BGR.Before construction began, researchers ran extensive tests on the blades to check whether these blades were strong enough to support the entire span consistently. They studied tension, compression, and load-bearing performance, then modelled the design digitally and ran further computational testing to confirm it would be safe enough for a pedestrian crossing.
Why simply dumping old blades isn’t a real solution
It is estimated that the US alone will generate around 2 million tons of blade waste needing disposal by 2050; this would consume nearly 1% of the country’s remaining landfill capacity, according to BGR.Europe’s situation looks tougher still, with an estimated 7.6 million tons of decommissioned blades expected by the same year.
Similar bridges built in the US
By 2025, a similar bridge was also built near Atlanta, Georgia, using a blade decommissioned all the way in Colorado. The bridge helps people cross a tricky creek to reach a part of a park that had been unreachable before.
