Avangrid Partners with Startup WindLoop to Test Innovative Process for Wind Turbine Blade Recycling
05 Junio 2024 - 1:11PM
Business Wire
Avangrid recently donated 300 pounds of
decommissioned wind turbine blades to WindLoop to test recycling
process
Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading sustainable energy company
and member of the Iberdrola Group, today announced that it recently
donated 300 pounds of decommissioned wind turbine blades to
WindLoop, a startup comprising of students at Yale University, 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.
“Avangrid is one of America’s most innovative leaders in
renewable energy, and this is yet another example of our
forward-thinking approach to accelerating a clean energy transition
across the United States,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “We
recognize the great challenges in front of us, and we are helping
lay the groundwork to find new and efficient methods to recycle
blades that will improve the circularity of our industry.”
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 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 novel solution can recover over 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,” 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. Our shared commitment to developing a
circular economy for wind energy in America makes this partnership
especially promising.”
Avangrid is committed to minimizing resource consumption and
waste and establishing a circular process to keep materials in use
and at high value for the long term. 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.
“Sustainability is at the core of every decision we make at
Avangrid, and serves as a guiding principle in our business," said
Laney Brown, vice president of sustainability at Avangrid. "Blade
recycling is a key component to the sustainable use of resources as
we support the clean energy transition. We are pleased to work with
forward-thinkers like WindLoop to develop circular solutions that
minimize environmental impacts in our industry."
Finding a solution to recycling turbine components will become
increasingly important to the maturing U.S. wind industry as
repowering becomes more common. Repowering includes the replacement
of some or all parts of a wind turbine once they reach 10-15 years
old to capitalize on improving wind turbine technology and
increasing efficiency. Finding a commercially viable blade
recycling solution is important to ensuring the sustainability of
current and future wind projects across the nation’s wind
fleet.
WindLoop’s team comprises of four students at Yale School of the
Environment in Connecticut, near Avangrid’s company
headquarters.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be
the leading sustainable energy company in the United States.
Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $45 billion in
assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary
lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks
business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas
utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and
New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and
operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities
across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000
people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST
100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens – in
2024 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2024, Avangrid ranked
first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the
U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the
World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive
year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group
of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information,
visit www.avangrid.com.
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Keaton Thomas Keaton.thomas@avangrid.com 503-956-9621
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