Oklahoma's first wind turbine blade recycling center opened in Woodward last year, and recently, two more companies have set their sights on the western and central parts of the state. One, Wind Power Solutions, in Hydro and the other, North Coast Enterprise Partners, in Coyle.
Thousands of wind turbines have twirled in the Oklahoma breeze for about two decades, and that is about how long the blades last. While their lifespan is roughly 20 years, some are replaced sooner for different reasons, like to increase energy production.
But all those giant wings have to go somewhere once they are replaced.
Mark Argenbright, the commission's public utility director, said the two incoming entities contacted the commission and have begun the registration process. The corporation also became aware of their presence in the state because of public input.
"I think there's increased interest and I think it is reasonable to expect there would be additional interest as the number of blades that are needing recycling are ever growing as some of these turbines reach end-of-life-time periods," Argenbright said.
He said although wind blade recycling facilities have to be registered, the commission does not have regulatory oversight as to how wind blades are discarded.
Argenbright said companies are required to be registered in an effort to prevent wind turbine blade graveyards, or stacked-up blades discarded instead of being recycled.
While there are different methods to decommission wind turbine blades, he said two of the three companies shred their blades.
"The information we have is with regard to what's required for the registration process," Argenbright said. "So we know where they are, how many blades they have and those kinds of things. But we don't necessarily know what their operations look like because that's not part of our oversight."
Earlier this year, Cushing's city planners voted against a permit for a turbine decommissioning facility.
"Oklahoma is one of the major sources of wind power in the country," Argenbright said. "So we've got a lot of blades and all of them, at some point, are going to reach end of life and have to be dealt with in some form or fashion. So recycling makes sense."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
