Wind Turbine Blades Come Down - Benches And Art Pop Up
Did you know that wind farm blades last between 20-30 years, depending on where it is? Today, while many wind farms continue to produce, some of the blades that have been doing the work for decades are getting re-powered, meaning they'll keep using the site and the turbine, but the blades need to be replaced. But what do you do with a piece of fiberglass that's anywhere from 140-200 feet long, and weighs 10 tons?? Meet Brian Donahue and Canvus.
Every year it's estimated that 5,000-8,000 of wind turbine blades are retired each year. There's few options for follow-up use for these materials. Sometimes they're simply land filled. Other times they may be crushed and pulverized into smaller pieces, 2-3 inch pieces, that can be used as fuel in a cement kiln, which still creates ash. Canvus wanted to do better.
Donahue says what they found is that by dissecting the whole blades down into "filets", they could handle them easier and find new uses in public spaces. Today Canvus is turning retired wind farm blades into beautiful pieces of art that are on display in urban spaces and community parks. Benches at the Jaycees Park in Oregon, WI are from the Canvus plant in Avon, Ohio.
Donahue says they're just beginning to "connect the dots" on how to repurpose these huge pieces of renewable "litter" and come up with solutions.
The community of Oregon, WI is one of the first to proudly feature it.
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