Iberdrola, through its PERSEO programme, and FCC Ámbito, a subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente, plans to start up Spain’s first blade recycling plant in Navarre.
The facility will be located in the south of the region, a strategic location due to its proximity to some of the country’s largest wind farms and good connections to other regions with abundant wind power facilities, Iberdrola said.
The project has the support of the Government of Navarre, as it is a strategic activity that positions the region at the forefront of the renewable energy industry, introducing the components of innovation and circularity and aligned with its regional specialisation policies.
In its commitment to the promotion and competitiveness of renewable energy, the Government of Navarre has worked discreetly to have the first plant of this nature located in the region, according to Iberdrola.
The move forms part of the pair’s EnergyLOOP programme to lead the recycling of components of renewable energy facilities.
This initiative will also contribute to the energy transition and boost the circular economy in Spain, Iberdrola said.
The initial objective will be the recovery of wind turbine blade components – mostly glass and carbon fibres and resins – and their reuse in sectors such as energy, aerospace, automotive, textile, chemical and construction.
The Spanish wind industry –one of the global leaders with more than 28GW of installed capacity – will face the need to recycle or reuse significant quantities of wind turbine components before other countries, Iberdrola said.
It is estimated that around 5,700 wind turbines per year will be dismantled in Europe in 2030, from the repowering of wind farms or from facilities reaching the end of their useful life.
In this context, EnergyLOOP will invest in integrated blade recycling solutions while improving its competitiveness and sustainability through the research and implementation of new recycling technologies, according to Iberdrola.
The industry will be able to absorb increasing amounts of waste and adopt increasingly efficient solutions.
The project will act in the different stages that enable the circularity of wind turbine blades, including on-site pretreatment and conditioning, waste transport logistics, recycling technologies and the marketing of recycled products.
This venture by Iberdrola and FCC Ámbito has the support of Siemens Gamesa, which will play a key role in this project, both because of its knowledge and expertise in blade recycling and because of its penetration in Spain, with 53% of all the wind farms installed in the country.