More than thirty years of combined experience in wind turbine blade maintenance and windfarm site design is driving the launch of a new company, ReBlade.
ReBlade is the UK’s first specialist wind blade decommissioning service, pioneering circular solutions to the oncoming avalanche of wind turbine blade disposal while prioritising sustainability, purposeful second-life design and green job creation.
Established by husband and wife team Steven and Fiona Lindsay, ReBlade is leveraging their decades of industry leadership expertise to design and deliver sustainable solutions for windfarm decommissioning.
Based in Glasgow and operating across the UK, ReBlade has secured contracts from utility-level owner operators to develop purposeful circular end-destinations for decommissioned wind turbine blades. The company’s launch has also been backed by Zero Waste Scotland’s Resource Efficient Circular Economy Accelerator Programme, funded by the Scottish Government and European Regional Development Fund, which provides support for small and medium sized businesses in Scotland to be more resource efficient and create a more circular economy.
Director Fiona Lindsay said:
“For the last fifteen years I’ve been directly responsible for managing the installation of hundreds of wind turbines the length and breadth of the UK. As we look ahead towards those early windfarm sites being repowered, it became apparent that there was a need for a blade decommissioning solution that would centre circularity in its approach. That’s the solution ReBlade seeks to provide.“I strongly believe that the green energy industry has a responsibility to develop sustainable working practices and to prioritise circularity in all our activities. As the turbines I helped put in place early in my career start to come down, I wanted to be part of the sustainable solution, to make sure that the materials used for these turbine blades have a useful second life rather than ending up being landfilled in turbine blade graveyards.”
Wind turbine blades are made from glass reinforced composites, which make them notoriously difficult to recycle or reuse.
ReBlade’s co-founder, Steven Lindsay, developed the first non-landfill process for wind turbine blade disposal in the UK back in 2015. Initially processing blades for energy from waste, ReBlade is now manufacturing products from turbine blades.
Steven’s background in managing wind turbine operations and maintenance services has helped inform ReBlade’s pioneering processes and blade handling protocols that maximise the potential for circular end-destinations for blades. Steven commented:
“We have launched ReBlade in advance of widespread windfarm site decommissioning because there’s still quite a bit of work to be done in developing best practice in materials handling and on-site management of waste blades. So we are calling on owner-operators to work with us now, at this relatively early stage, to be part of the blade waste solution. By investing in pioneering solutions now, our industry will be well prepared to ensure that whole-site decommissioning is undertaken in a responsible and sustainable manner; using processes that enhance the reputation of our industry, rather than damage it.
“There are lots of big ideas floating around about what decommissioned blades could be used for, and that creative thinking is great, but right how we need to focus on practical, workable solutions that are affordable and scalable. We have had a fantastic response from the industry so far, and we are looking forward to working with our clients to develop industry-led solutions for the oncoming GRP waste challenge, there’s lots to do and the time to get started on solving the blade challenge is now.”
Ends