Gov. Jay Inslee signed state Sen. Jeff Wilson’s wind-turbine blade recycling bill into law last Thursday. Senate Bill 5287 seeks to solve the issue of what happens to wind-turbine blades once they’ve reached the end of their useful life.
“This is becoming a topic of conversation among those interested in environmental sustainability,” said Wilson, R-Longview. “The blades are 170 feet long or more, and they don’t last forever. We’re finding that the typical useful life of a wind turbine is about 30 years. The blades aren’t easy to recycle, because of the materials they’re made of. So as modern wind farms upgrade their equipment, we’re cutting up the blades and dumping them in landfills. If we’re going to go green, we should do better than that.”
SB 5287 launches a state study of wind-blade recycling, which will be overseen by Washington State University. The report will prospects of recycling wind turbines
