PreZero Spain and Endesa present “Grineo”, the new company created to give life to the first Wind Blade Recycling Plant in Iberia

 

June 14, 2023

Grineo will lead the management of the wind blades at the end of their useful life that will be treated at the plant that will be located in Cubillos del Sil (León), and which is part of Endesa’s Futur-e Plan for Compostilla thermal power plant currently under dismantling.

PreZero Spain and Endesa announced a year ago the construction of the first wind blade recycling plant in the Iberian Peninsula, and throughout these months they have been working to make it a reality. Now another step has been taken in this unique project, thanks to the constitution of Grineo, a company created to manage the blades that will be recycled in the installation designed by Prezero Spain and Endesa. 

Objective of this first plant in the Peninsula is to recycle disused wind blades and turn them into raw material for new products, giving new useful life to these components. 

The facility where the blades managed by Grineo will be treated has, with the recognition of the HORIZON EUROPE Framework Program of the European Union, the main EU funding program in the field of research and innovation. This recognition of an innovative project that will allow the concept of circular economy to be really applied, recycling components to give them a second useful life, is part of the BLADES2BUILD project in which 14 leading companies and research centers from all over Europe participate.  

The new wind blade recycling plant is thus being processed and is expected to begin construction in 2024. This plant, which will be located in Cubillos del Sil (León), is part of Endesa’s Futur-e Plan for the Compostilla thermal power plant, currently under dismantling. In this sense, Endesa’s objective is to develop projects in just transition zones that last over time, as it did in its day with thermal generation facilities, now it wants to remain linked to the territory with unique projects like this. 

The new plant, which will employ around 30 people on a permanent jobs, responds to the challenge of recycling more than 2,000 units of wind blades per year, that is, about 6,000 tons per year of fiberglass composite from wind turbines, betting decisively on the circularity of the materials of the blades. The recovered secondary raw materials can be used, among other applications, in sectors such as automotive, construction or ceramics, thus creating a circular economy in the Spanish wind business. 

This solution will make it possible to address the repowering of existing wind turbines more sustainably. Currently, 27,446 MW (megawatts) of wind power are installed in Spain, of which 22,959 will be more than 25 years old by the end of this decade. 

 

(1) The project has been funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.