Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This video was produced when the laboratory operated as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The laboratory is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). In this webinar, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's WINDExchange initiative on May 30, 2024, experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory introduced attendees to key concepts in end-of-service processes for wind energy technologies and infrastructure, including decommissioning, repowering, and recycling. As wind energy projects across the United States become older, decisions about end-of-service options and component processing are of growing importance to project owners and operators, state and local decision makers, and neighboring communities. There is also concern about the blade waste that must be processed, with a number of recycling solutions being developed to meet this need. Presenters introduced the processes and activities involved at the end of a wind energy project’s lifespan; discussed their impacts on communities, landowners, the wind energy industry, and other stakeholders; explained different blade recycling methods; and discussed the future of recycling in the wind energy industry. Learn more: windexchange.energy.gov/end-of-service-guide
This video was produced when the laboratory operated as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The laboratory is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR). In this webinar, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's WINDExchange initiative on May 30, 2024, experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory introduced attendees to key concepts in end-of-service processes for wind energy technologies and infrastructure, including decommissioning, repowering, and recycling. As wind energy projects across the United States become older, decisions about end-of-service options and component processing are of growing importance to project owners and operators, state and local decision makers, and neighboring communities. There is also concern about the blade waste that must be processed, with a number of recycling solutions being developed to meet this need. Presenters introduced the processes and activities involved at the end of a wind energy project’s lifespan; discussed their impacts on communities, landowners, the wind energy industry, and other stakeholders; explained different blade recycling methods; and discussed the future of recycling in the wind energy industry. Learn more: windexchange.energy.gov/end-of-service-guide










