BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 11, 2023
Aging or damaged wind turbine blades can be shredded to make products like cement, sports clothing, injectable plastic pellets and even gummy bears and sports drinks. Innovation and scientific break-throughs have transformed what was largely a non-recyclable item just a few years ago into new and alternative uses. When the wind is blowing in Maine, these massive blades, some as large as 200 feet long and weighing as much as 52,000 pounds, rotate atop towers to produce electricity on wind farms dotting the state. As the use of wind technology spreads across the nation and the state, what happens to the discarded wind blades is important to environmentally conscious Mainers. According to the U.S. Wind Turbine Database, 72,669 wind turbines are located in 43 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico. The database lists 23 wind farms with 379 individual turbines in Maine.