Spain makes headway in wind turbine recycling

Energy company Acciona Energia is backing the construction of a wind blade recycling plant in northern Spain.

The Waste2Fiber blade recycling plant will have a processing capacity of 6 000 tonnes per year. A total of EUR 5.3 million is being invested in the venture, including government funding.

Construction of plant in the town of Lumbier in the Navarre region is scheduled for the first half of this year. Once operational in 2025, the facility will employ more than 100 people.

Acciona Energia is building the facility together with its parent group, infrastructure builder Acciona SA, and start-up RenerCycle.

They envision a site equipped with proprietary thermal treatment technology to recycle composite materials. Their innovative method involves maintaining moderate and controlled temperature and atmospheric conditions.

This preserves the properties of reinforcement fibres, allowing the reuse of organic fractions and the transformation of composite materials into secondary raw materials.

These secondary materials can then be introduced into new production processes with a quality comparable to that of virgin materials. Acciona Energia says the recycled glass and carbon fibres generated through this process are suitable for use in industries such as automotive and construction, while organic compounds will have applications in the chemicals industry.