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Growing Number of “Wind Turbine Graveyards” in Europe — The Recycling Problem of Green Energy
Across Europe, including Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands, an increasing number of sites are appearing where decommissioned wind turbines are stored. Despite the reputation of renewable energy as “clean,” the disposal of turbine blades and structures has become one of the continent’s most pressing environmental challenges.
In Germany, particularly in the northern states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, such “graveyards” are becoming more common. These regions led in wind farm construction in the early 2000s, and now large-scale dismantling of outdated turbines is underway.
According to the European Environment Agency, Europe currently has around 34,000 turbines that are more than 15 years old. Most require replacement or modernization, but recycling blades made of fiberglass and epoxy resins remains a complex and costly process.
Experts note that over 90% of a turbine’s materials can be recycled, but the blades present the main environmental hazard: they cannot be processed through standard recycling methods and are often sent to landfills or special storage facilities. Some EU countries are developing secondary-use technologies, such as shredding and incorporating composite materials into cement or road construction.
Nevertheless, the recycling issue remains unresolved. Environmentalists warn that without a closed-loop disposal system, “green energy” itself risks becoming a source of waste, undermining its ecological mission.
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