What do wind and waves have in common? More than you might think, thanks to the creative recycling that is revolutionizing the fate of end-of-life wind turbines. As wind turbines continue to multiply around the world as a vital source of clean energy, a significant issue emerges: what to do with their components when they are decommissioned?
The challenge is particularly challenging for blades, which are made from composite materials that are difficult to recycle. Acciona, a Spanish renewable energy developer, has found an innovative answer by transforming an old paddle into high-performance surfboards. The initiative “Turbine Made", launched in collaboration with a professional surfer, represents a shining example of how creative recycling can transform an environmental problem into an opportunity.
Creative recycling tackles wind waste mountain
A decommissioned wind turbine at the Waubra Wind Farm in the Australian state of Victoria has found new life in the form of ten prototype surfboards. This project It is the world's first attempt to use materials from wind turbine blades to create high-performance sports equipment. Acciona's choice to collaborate with the professional surfer Josh Kerr demonstrates the company's ambition: it is not simply about recycling materials, but about transforming them into superior products. Creative recycling here becomes an opportunity to demonstrate the excellent mechanical properties of composite materials used in wind turbine blades.
“We know that over the next 5-10 years countries like Australia will have a large volume of decommissioned wind turbines, so we are acting now to explore new ways to recycle and reuse the material they are built with,” he said Mariola Domenech, Director of Global Sustainability at Acciona.
A solution to a growing problem
“Turbine Made” comes at a crucial time. According to a 2020 WindEurope report, while 85%-95% of wind turbines are recyclable, blades present a particular challenge due to the type of resin they typically use.
It is estimated that by 2050 there could be 50 million tons of waste blade material: approximately eight times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza, with a few million tons still to go. Creative recycling (and more generally recycling tout court) is not just a curiosity, but an urgent need for industry. For this reason, the initiative does not only include surfboards, but many projects born from the "particulate" obtained from old wind turbine blades. Shoes, playgrounds and other projects are other examples.
From theory to industrial practice
Acciona is taking the concept beyond the prototype stage, developing a blade recycling plant in Spain which is expected to open in 2026. The plant will create 100 jobs and will be able to process up to 6.000 tons of material per year. And that’s just the beginning. If these materials can be transformed into high-performance sports equipment, what other applications could emerge? Tiny homes, furniture, building components: the creative recycling potential for these materials is limited only by the imagination.
As we ride the wave of energy transition, projects like this remind us that true sustainability requires thinking about full cycles, from production to end-of-life. And sometimes, the most elegant solution is also the most unexpected: from the heights of the sky to the depths of the ocean, from the wind to the waves.
