ACCIONA Energía is putting the spotlight on innovation and circularity at this year’s WindEurope event in Copenhagen (Denmark) by displaying a range of innovative solutions for wind turbine blade recycling, a growing challenge in the renewable energy industry.
Among the items on display is a prototype of a new sneaker model created in collaboration with Spanish fashion brand El Ganso. The sneakers incorporate recycled blade material into the soles and build on the success of the previous limited-edition model launched by the two companies in 2023.
The new line of shoes was manufactured using wind turbine blades dismantled from the Tahivilla wind farm, a facility currently undergoing repowering by ACCIONA Energía. In doing so, the company gives a second life to turbines that have reached the end of their operational use.
The new shoes are available for pre-sale at El Ganso’s website and mark another step in bringing advances in renewable energy into everyday fashion through a real, tangible product that people incorporate into their daily lives.
Also on display at WindEurope are ACCIONA’s world-first surfboards made from recycled wind turbine blades, a prototype crafted using material from a decommissioned blade at the Waubra Wind Farm in Victoria, Australia. Designed and developed locally, the boards exemplify how repurposed materials can be transformed into high-performance consumer goods while promoting circular design principles.
Though these initiatives, ACCIONA Energía repurposes decommissioned wind turbine blades at the end of their useful life into real, usable products, while advancing the development of new blade recycling solutions, one of the main challenges for the wind energy sector as thousands of turbines approach the end of their operational life.
SECOND LIFE
While around 90% of a wind turbine can be recycled through well-established processes, blades require specific solutions due to their complex composition, which includes fiberglass, carbon fiber, and resins. The main challenge lies in developing sustainable and scalable recycling methods at an industrial level.
In recent years, ACCIONA Energía has carried out several pilot projects using repurposed wind turbine blade materials in a variety of applications, including the construction of torsion beams for photovoltaic structures at the Extremadura I-II-III solar plant.
Looking ahead, the company is developing Waste2Fiber®, a large-scale recycling and recovery plant in Lumbier, Navarra, to process up to 6,000 tonnes of blade material per year. The recovered glass and carbon fibers will be reintegrated into industries such as automotive and construction.
In addition, ACCIONA Energía is also a founding partner of RenerCycle, a cross-sector alliance dedicated to advancing circular economy solutions for the wind sector.
With a strong emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and circularity, ACCIONA Energía is redefining how renewable infrastructure is designed, used, and recycled, turning end-of-life challenges into opportunities for green industry growth.