After powerful purpose, wind turbine components get a second life

Wind turbines and solar panels are pillars of the renewable energy future. But when they reach the end of their operational lives, what happens to that equipment?

Destructable, an Amarillo-based company and Xcel Energy customer, has an answer.

The company helps safely remove and responsibly manage wind and solar equipment when projects are no longer producing energy and retired. By cutting, shredding and processing the components of wind turbine blades and solar panels, they provide new ways to use to reuse that material instead of burying them in landfills or disposing of them through less sustainable methods.

“We want to offer creative, sustainable solutions.” says Cody Earle, CEO and founder of Destructable. “We’re looking out for a sustainable future, and Xcel Energy joins us in that vision.”

Blades and other wind turbine components have long been considered difficult to recycle because they are made from strong composite materials designed to withstand decades of use. Once components are processed and shredded, Destructable finds new ways to reuse that material, including turning it into concrete for building projects, waste-to-energy efforts or even playground equipment. It’s an operation Xcel Energy is proud to power and benefit from.

“Between two of our recent repower projects, we've been able to recycle 100% of both the nacelle and hub of the wind turbines and over 60% of the blades from these projects have been processed at waste-to-energy facilities” says Jeff Lyng, chief sustainability officer at Xcel Energy. “I'm really proud of the work that we're doing with Destructable and how they’re looking at ways to extend the life and value of that raw material.”

Destructable’s sustainability efforts go beyond removing wind turbines and reusing materials. They also reclaim the land formerly used by wind turbines, take up the foundation and return it back to landowners.

For Xcel Energy, the collaboration reflects a commitment to advancing practical solutions for end-of-life management and material recovery from renewable energy infrastructure.

“We want to be good stewards of the resources that we have,” says Brad Baldridge, interim president of Xcel Energy in Texas and New Mexico. “We want to make sure that the resources we have are not only here for us and providing the growth that we need, but for future generations as well.”