Landfill begins burying non-recyclable Wind Turbine Blades
The CRL has entered into a deal with three Wyoming wind farms to dispose of decommissioned blades and motor houses.
Waste management experts estimate they’ll take hundreds of years to biodegrade
“Our crushing equipment is not big enough to crush them,” a landfill representative told NPR.
Prior to burying the cumbersome, sometimes nearly 300-foot long blades, the landfill has to cut them up into smaller pieces onsite and stack them in order to save space during transportation.
To make matters worse, the blades aren’t exactly compostable. The Casper Sold Waste Manager tells Wyoming News Now they’ll take hundreds of years to biodegrade.
“So Casper happens to be, I think it is, the biggest landfill facility in the state of Wyoming. These blades are really big, and they take up a lot of airspace, and our unlined area is very, very large, and it’s going to last hundreds of years.”
As if that’s not bad enough, NPR reports researchers estimate the US will soon have to grapple with over 720,000 tons of blades over the next 20 years, “a figure that doesn’t include newer, taller higher-capacity versions.”
So much for saving the environment.
Image Credits: wyomingnewsnow.tv.
Source: Casper Regional Landfill begins burying turbine blades
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Obviously, the solution is to build tiny fiberglass houses for the homeless, illegals, welfare recipient’s wounded vets and elderly, it is a wonderful idea. Just because fiberglass can cause health problems is no reason not to. Think of all the issues solved, it’s a win win… we shorten the lives of those non tax paying individuals, clean up the streets of San Francisco and solve the wind turbine debaucle. Bam! Problem solved. Sarcasm
Lol. It’s sad you have to include sarcasm in your statement, but if you don’t, the idiots who buy into the libtardimus ideology would shred you. Haha. I agree with your solution though. :-)
Why not cut them up where they will fit on a barge and ship them to a third world country where they can recycle them. The blades are hollow and can probably be converted into a home for a impoverished family.
They r not hollow.They r made of high density foam and balsa wood. Then they spray and push the acrylic into and on the blade.I work at the company that makes the interior of the blade. U should get ur facts right before commenting.
Then your company should be responsible for there recycling. It worked in Europe for recycling cars.
If you create something then you are responsible for its recycling or repurposing.
If everything is treated like this then there would be less waste.
Don’t cut them at all. Bury them side by side vertically along the Mexican border.
Cut them in lengths and use for border wall.
I like this idea
In the 60’s they said oil reserves would be depleted in 10 yrs, unless…
In the 70s, another Ice Age in 10 yrs, unless…
80’s Acid Rain will destroy all crops in 10 yrs, unless…
90’s Ozone Layer will be destroyed in 10 yrs, unless…
2000 Ice Caps will be gone in 10 yrs, unless…
2010 rising temps and Climate Change is killing those in warmer climates, unless…
2020 The world will end in 12 yrs, unless…the citizens of the USA pay a tax to save the world! SMH
More efficient, cleaner energy is good for everyone and everything, if it is actually more efficient and cleaner throughout its entire life cradle to grave.
#stoptheridiculousbullshit
Rob can I resend your blog seperatly
I’ll comment on just 2. Acid rain was very much curtailed by new smokestack emissions laws. The ozone layer was helped in healing in large part by the prohibition of freon. (The ice age bit will take too much typing.)
But the ozone is part of the new climate change hoax sooooo. There have been bullhockey scares like this ever since the liberals found out panicky moron will give them money to stop it yet it’s not stopped. Wake up!!
I reckon they could easily be made into hulls for catamaran fishing boats and given to poorer communities atound the world.
The did their job, they got carbon credits for some dodgey outfit. Must likely collected a tax payer funded grant for their installation.
Exactly! The plant that came into jonesboro arkansas did exactly that. They opened amd employed 200+ people with jobs that paid uncharacteristically high for the area. Then, when their tax credits were expired the dumped it all and went elsewhere. Leaving 200+ people who had gotten used to living on probably 30%-40% more than the area’s industrial avg pay, with nothing but debts racked up over 5 years because they thought they had long term employment.
Well, here’s an idea…those blades and other parts are pretty sturdy. And we do have an overabundance of homeless. Why not cut the blades in such a way that they can be used as exterior paneling for small homes built, like habit for humanity? As for how to cut them…well, anyone remember the old chain gangs in prisons? Where they had inmates break up rocks? Theres your free labor. Every blade sliced is say…a week off of their sentence or something. Free labor, low costs and the materials are repurposed for a good cause. No landfill needed.
They are fiberglass, hence an airborne carcinogen much like asbestos. Now you know why they cannot cut them up.
Now 40 years down the road the dems can take advantage of another federal clean up.
Guaranteed to be working on it now, 40 years they might have office again.
The article states that they DID cut them up – to save space in the landfill. So, Mike has a good idea. Why not cut them in such a way that they could be repurposed?
Good idea but everything has a cost. To figure out how to cut them and have a machine or people do the cutting. Then market and ship the new product. Wind turbine is not the answer for power, nuclear and natural gas is far better answer.
Nuclear is not the answer. Disposal of spent material and accidents too big a risk. Look what happened in Japan.
Great idea! I bet they can also be used in other building and landscaping projects.
Excellent idea please market that!
Yes it’s a great idea. Some should do that!!!!
Well, Mike, I think YOU should be in charge. No salary. Get busy.
I was thinking pretty much the same thing..cut them into small square dimensions about an inch thick then align then and relaminate them into large square panels that can be used as exterior walls just like in the RV industry or something to that effect.
I like that idea anything to reuse something new almost non-biodegradable putting the prisoners to work is better than having them set around and bodybuild and watch TV but of course anything that makes sense and actually saves money isn’t going to happen.
That’s cruel and unusual punishment to make those poor inmates work……
Oh please you have incarceration all wrong!!!
I bought a house with a broken hot tub I wanted to remove. I thought I would just to cut it into sections I could carry to the truck. Talk about a bad idea. I learned pretty quick you do not want to cut into that crap.
Did you not read the article? What would you cut the with? Sounds like it be very expensive to come up with a way to do this.
Why don’t contact a company called Terracycle I’m sure they can find away to recycle them. There new I have invested in they would find a solution it’s there business
maybe Donny can use them to build his wall
Our perhaps they will fit in your ass
Yes Mikey, stick them up your ass, that’s all you libs care about it seems.
Lmbo, folks are totally misinformed about windmills on both sides for or against. Most comments are false.
One comment mentions that there is no recycling plant big enough to recycle these blades. Couldn’t one plant be built and used to grind these up and blades reconstructed? Cannot another material be used for the blades that can be easier and cheaper to be recycled? Perhaps, ship them to an active volcano and drop them in to melt away?
Better yet, have a grinder mounted on a flatbed trailer to recycle them on site when they are taken down.
No they cannot be reused after destructing. Fiberglass is stranded materials for strength, chopped is not strong.
Fiberglass doesn’t melt.
If it’s such a profitable venture to recycle them, why don’t you do it? Or would you rather our tax dollars be used to do that, just like they were to build them in the first place.
How would you keep all the dust from grinding up the fiberglass from being released in the air. What happens to the plant in between the 20+ year life span?
Cant grind them up, they are balsa wood infused with fiberglass. Balsa wood is so soft and sponge like it would plug up anything grinding it.
Have the blades actually come to the end of their life, or is it just the most expensive parts like the generator and gearbox.
You mean the generator that uses diesel fuel to run, or the gearbox that uses gear oil to lubricate? How “green” of them!
Anyone know why the turbine blades are being trashed? Seems like a colossal waste.
I’d imagine if they get beat up too much, the blade might make the windmill go out of balance and cause turbine issues.
They got to much blood on them from killing bald eagles that flew through.
So you can get more money to build more from Greta, and all gore, and the like.
And how long will nuclear waste be around for, it is a lot more dangerous. Wind and solar are the only sources of energy that do not require any fuel while running and no polution while doing so, no other energy producing system has that ability.
Not true, each turbine needs a generator to turn it for any long periods of no wind. Those at see have diesel generators to keep blades turning as salt air will cause them to size up. “Really environmentally friendly!”
Thats the funniest thing i have ever heard. Where do you get your information? Obviously you are well informed. Wind alone powers the turbine, no wind, no turning of the rotor.
Theu require more energy to create then they provide smdh go read about it
Really? How much energy does it take to produce vs the 20-25 yrs of production? how much does it take to produce a nuclear power plant or a coal fired power plant or hydro? i wish people would have facts and data to back up what they say
Herb, you’re a bit of an idiot aren’t you. What about the fossil fuels required to build these atrocities. They harm birds, bats, humans. What are the bearings lubricated with ? Unicorn piss ? You’re a fossil fuel denier. Vote for Bernie it any if the other 599 Demoncrat losers.
Really, how many birds hit high rise windows or your house? How many deer get killed on highways? No mention of that? Whats the real reason you are against green energy. Do you know a main bearing takes about 15 tubes to initially pack it. After that 1-2 tubes on each annual service. Your car can use more fluids than a wind turbine
Warren, it takes batteries to store the electricity the turbine or solar panel produces in very small quantities at once, I may add. What do you think batteries are made of? Fairy dust?
Well, Warren, are you suggesting we drive a wind turbine! It sounds like it.
“Wind and solar are the only sources of energy that do not require any fuel while running……………….” Sorry Herb, but I have to ask, have you taken leave of your mind? I guess nobody told you how much “fuel” goes into building this wasteful junk, the energy invested vs the energy returned on the investment, or the surreal amount of petroleum, keeping those wonderful bird killers from burning up while they whirl around in the tens of thousands producing 2% or the worlds energy.
Alvin, can you tell us how much energy is consumed producing turbine components? Or what the annual energy production is of a single 4MW wind turbine? “Garbage”? I guess you are in favor of more dangerous forms of energy like coal and nuclear.. what does it take to build those? Give some facts to back up your statements otherwise you just sound foolish and disrespectful.
To say wind does not use fossil fuel is a delusion. Do some research. It takes 149 tons of coke and 350 tons of steel. It takes 20 years of full service to pay for the energy used to make it. The life expectancy of the turbine is about 20 years
That means windmill will never break even
Truth bomb,they can never pay for them selves! Ever.
Several different types of generators which are used in wind turbines are as follows. Asynchronous (induction) generator and synchronous generator. Squirrel cage induction generator (SCIG) and wound rotor induction generator (WRIG) are comes under asynchronous generators
And no other energy has no eternal effects as those two.
Fiberglass and nuclear.
We’re have unknown masses of bunker oil right here in the usa and we petition Gov to steal taxpayers money to poison us with fiber and fallout.
Wrong,these wind machines Are a very expensive energy consumer.they can never pay for them selves by making electricity,.and the tax dollars paying for this is being used every day to stuff pockets to make the feely green peoples lives complete.the true pupose is a military strategy to create a grid that will be very difficult to take out when the enemy our goverment has made gets ambitious so they can jump power to necessary oil and gas foundries and military operations.
It requires a bunch of fossil fuels to build, maintain and destroy or bury the wind turbine. Plus the kill birds and are a eye sore. Not saying I’m an expert just saying they may not be the best answer.
Wrong. Hydroelectric.
For a windmill to start it requires a diesel generator to start it up the wind does not just turn the blades by itself they are to heavy so it still pollutes the environment every windmill requires a generator to run
Wrong. The generator is fueled by diesel and the gearbox is lubricated by gear oil. Trump again my “green” friend.
Yep! But what all does it require to build them? People never look beyond that.
That is not a true statement. Hydro electric is produced with the natural flow of the river flowing down to the ocean witch is part of a natural cycle and does not use any fossil fuels to produce electricity.
Hey ….let’s figure out if we can make something out of them. Make houses.
Make vacation cottages. I am sure they are very strong and durable.
Could make walls and roof parts etc….
Fun Fact: From a raw materials state, it takes more energy to create a windmill than it will make in it’s operational lifetime.
I’m not sure that fun fact is relevant. I think any machine uses more energy than it produces when adding in the energy source to run it.
ABSOLUTELY….not true!!
True.
Explain that to the left.
Yeah, but all the wind people and their friends the sun people feel good so that’s the important thing. It is better to feel superior to we carbon based folk than to actually be superior. Just wait until all of those solar panels need to be trashed. But now that I think about it, who cares, because we only have 11 years to go according to Greta and Al. Live it up!
Yes! That is the nice thing about fossil fuels. The byproducts of combustion are easy to dispose of.
I live out near Mojave California. A few years ago, for months and months we would see train load after train load of these huge windmill blades, Heading North” being sent up to a wind farm near us.
We also see southbound trains with car after car filled with coal heading towards Los Angeles probably being exported to other countries.
A friend of ours works in the commercial solar business( they produce power for the utility companies). He stopped by after work with a Trailer Load of solar panels that were broken that he was taking to scrap. Apparently, these are another item that is not really repairable.
Hoping it’s only Greta and energy sucker Gore that choke on this green crap
Need to store them in an area where later on it could be refurbished or reused ,recycled in the future. There’s lots of room in the unused desert to store them.
Sounds like someone did not do their due diligence when they first came out with the idea.
“due diligence” left the scene of the crime a long time ago Jeff, leaving you and the rest of the taxpayers with the mess to clean up!
Alvin, i suppose you are ok when tax dollars are spent cleaning up chemical spills ruining lakes and rivers so i can see how wind turbines are an easy target for you. learn some facts and quit bringing people down with your negative outlook. If people took some time to learn more about green energy and knew some facts instead of jumping on the popular opinion bandwagon, they might actually support it. i have worked in the industry 11 years now, coming from the automotive industry. Trust me, automotive is far more wasteful of energy. No one questions factory power demands and other manufacturing plants energy usage. Turbines are very clean in their production. How about this, if you need some education, throw some questions my way and i will be happy to educate you
So you have an alternative motive as you work in the field. Keeps your job!? Maybe you have just been brainwashed by those you work for. It’s still waste you are producing with no way of disposing of it. It’s a problem!!!
Due diligence? You mean when energy “solutions”, free healthcare, free college and all the other “free” crap is presented, they’ve done “due diligence”? Come on, it has to work, right? Lol
Additionally look at the carbon footprint generated in their production. Windpower is worse than power production by coal.
Worse in what aspect/regard? I dont ever recall a wind spill that decimated local water supplies and killed wildlife?
Wind turbines kill 140,000-328,00 birds per year. It is the harshest form of “green”energy. Haven’t seen the big semi trucks hauling the blades one by one? They don’t magically appear from Denmark and China where they’re manufactured into the property where they’re installed.
I have yet to see a dead bird near a windmill, have visited many. Cats kill many more birds than windmills, I think my house windows have killed more birds than the windmill I see out my window.
According to the Audubon Society, domestic cats kill almost four billion birds per year.
https://www.audubon.org/news/cats-pose-even-bigger-threat-birds-previously-thought
The Society supports green energy projects.
“Audubon strongly supports properly-sited and operated wind and solar power as renewable energy sources that help reduce the threats posed to birds and people by climate change. However, Audubon also believes wind farms and solar installations, like all forms of energy development, can and should be properly sited and operated in ways that minimize harm to federally-protected species.”
https://www.audubon.org/news/secretary-zinke-overestimates-wind-powers-impact-birds-downplays-fossil-fuels
Buildings kill hundreds of millions of birds per year.
https://www.audubon.org/news/building-collisions-kill-hundreds-millions-birds-year
Wind turbine mortality hardly rates mentioning, by comparison.
Cat kills include sparrows, doves, robins and the like. Wind turbines kill eagles, hawks, condors and other protected raptors as well endangered bats.
Where does the equipment come from for the hydro dams or nuclear power plant? How many animals are displaced from these operations? Did you know many components are now produced in the USA? Colorado. Look it up.
You’re concerned about wind turbines killing 140,000-328,000 a year? Seriously? Do you know how many birds are killed by cars and trucks a year? 340 MILLION! Do you know how many birds are killed by crashing into windows on buildings? Between 365-988 MILLION! Do you know how many birds cats kill in a year? They kill between 1.4 and 3.7 BILLION, YES, BILLION! Looks like we should be getting rid of cars, buildings and cats so we can save the birds. Looks like the turbines are much more “bird friendly”. The way some of you people think, or should I say, not think, amazes me. ♀️♀️
NFrasier, you speak at the second grade level on the topic, please inform yourself. Get informed about what supplying the earth’s population with 2% of its energy needs has done to the planet and will continue to do in the future, as Socialists who do not walk the talk, take control of YOU!
“As if that’s not bad enough, NPR reports researchers estimate the US will soon have to grapple with over 720,000 tons of blades over the next 20 years, ‘a figure that doesn’t include newer, taller higher-capacity versions.'”
10,000 times that amount of fly ash is produced by burning coal every year (75 million tons per year). Now, a good amount of that is actually used as a filler with asphalt, among other things, so 20 million tons are accounted for, leaving 55 million tons per year as waste, or about 1500 times as much waste as those turbine blades.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Fly-ash-production-million-tonnes-year-in-different-countries-source_fig1_277309330
This doesn’t even account for the greenhouse gas production from burning coal (Two billion tons per year), or for environmental impacts from mining and transporting coal (One of the largest coal-fired plants burns three 100-car trainloads of coal per day when running at peak capacity).
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/high-cost-coal/
When the carbon in coal is released as carbon dioxide, the material left behind is very concentrated. Fly ash contains mercury and other metals, including uranium and thorium. People who live downwind of coal-fired power plants receive radiation exposure that is higher than people living near nuclear power plants. A rough calculation by Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimated that the recoverable energy from the radioactive materials in fly ash could exceed the energy generated by burning the coal in the first place.
https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML0932/ML093280447.pdf
Apologies. I slipped a couple decimal points on the “10,000 times” figure. Sorry. It should have been:
“100 times that amount of fly ash is produced by burning coal every year (75 million tons per year).”
Hey Jose, what did it take to build that coal fired power plant? Little clean coal fairies? LOTS of fossil fuels and manufacturing
Send them to the moon?
do you know how much fuel you’d have to burn to do that? how much money it would cost? it would be…. astronomical.
drop them inside an active volcano?
Finally: a solution we can all live with. Except those not making millions off either side…..