Ireland turns retired wind turbine blades into bridges and furniture. How Kilrush is giving renewable energy waste a second life

A wind turbine blade that once helped generate clean electricity is getting a very different second life in Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland. Instead of being sent to landfill or incineration, sections of retired blades are being transformed into a pedestrian bridge, benches and tables as part of an unusual circular-economy project. The initiative, led by the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) in partnership with BladeBridge, is designed to show how one of the hardest parts of a wind turbine to recycle can be turned into useful public infrastructure.

Retired blades become a new Kilrush bridge

The centrepiece of the project is a “BladeBridge” walkway at Vandeleur Gardens in Kilrush. Retired turbine blades are being used as the principal structural supports, with Irish forest timber added to form the upper structure. The bridge project has received €50,000 in government funding, while the bridge itself has a reported cost of about €49,000. CLDC says the work is being carried out locally, with blades sourced from Ireland, fabrication taking place in Spanish Point and installation in Kilrush.

The project is part of a broader effort to find uses for turbine blades that have reached the end of their working lives. A typical blade is made largely from glass-fibre reinforced polymer, a strong composite material that is difficult to recycle using conventional methods.

From turbine blades to benches and picnic tables

The Kilrush project goes beyond the bridge. Blade sections have also been incorporated into outdoor furniture, including a bench, picnic table and a distinctive tri-bench. According to BladeBridge, the furniture uses sections from 13-metre Nordex N29 blades. The blades had already spent 15 years on a Danish wind farm and another decade on a Northern Ireland wind farm before being decommissioned.

The idea is not entirely new. BladeBridge emerged from the Re-Wind research network, whose researchers have spent years investigating how old turbine blades could replace conventional materials in infrastructure. Speaking to The Irish Times, BladeBridge co-founder Dr Angie Nagle said bridges made from wind blades could be “20-50 per cent lower carbon than conventional bridges”, while also offering an alternative to landfill or incineration.

Why wind turbine blades are difficult to recycle

Most components of a wind turbine can be recycled relatively easily, but blades present a particular challenge because of their composite construction. Researchers from University College Cork and Munster Technological University have noted that the material is designed to be strong and stable, which also makes it difficult and expensive to break down. Some existing approaches involve crushing blades for use in cement production, but higher-value reuse can potentially retain more of the material's usefulness. That is why projects such as Kilrush's are attracting attention. Rather than destroying the blade material, the approach keeps its structural strength in service.

A model for future wind-turbine waste

CLDC estimates that Ireland faces 11,000 tonnes of wind-turbine blade decommissioning by 2026, followed by another 12,000 tonnes by 2030. The organisation says BladeBridge is looking to develop standardised designs that could eventually be used for bridges, e-mobility shelters and coastal paths.

The Kilrush project therefore represents more than an unusual piece of public furniture. As older wind farms begin reaching the end of their operational lives, it offers a glimpse of how the infrastructure created for the renewable-energy transition could itself become part of a circular economy. Instead of treating an enormous turbine blade as waste once its energy-generating career ends, Ireland is testing whether the same material can continue serving communities for years to come.