Acciona Energía highlights the recycling of composites

At the end of 2023, the Spanish group drew attention to composite material recycling in a unique way. They collaborated with the brand El Ganso to develop sneakers made largely from recycled wind turbine blades. Through an innovative process of reducing glass and carbon fibres and epoxy resins, a powder is obtained and combined with rubber to create a shoe sole. The sneakers branded El Ganso feature the graphic symbol of a wind turbine.

Waste2Fiber opening, a wind turbine blade recycling plant

The shoes are derived from a 23-meter-long wind turbine blade from the Aibar wind farm in the Navarre region of Spain. This blade has been in service since 1998, producing an estimated 12,500 MWh.

Recycling is at the heart of the challenges in the wind energy production sector, and several thousand wind turbine blades are soon reaching the end of their first life cycle. In Spain, 20,000 wind turbine blades are expected to be processed in the short term, according to Acciona Energía. The group has recently invested in a wind turbine recycling plant located in Lumbier, in the Navarre region, named Waste2Fiber, which will soon be operational.