Texas orders cleanup of thousands of dumped wind turbine blades

A Texas court has granted the state a temporary injunction to prevent wind turbine recycling companies from accepting shipments of wind turbine blades and requires them to begin the cleanup of two West Texas facilities where blades have been discarded illegally.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office obtained a temporary injunction against Global Fiberglass Solutions, Inc. and other affiliated entities. The injunction also requires the company to clean up thousands of discarded turbine blades at two facilities in Sweetwater, Texas.

“No new wind turbine blade shipments will be accepted at these illegal sites and the defendants are now legally required to begin cleaning up the thousands of discarded blades they irresponsibly abandoned in Sweetwater,” Paxton said in a statement. “We will not allow Texas land to be used as an illegal dumping ground.”

The injunction comes after Paxton sued Global Fiberglass Solutions in February, alleging that the wind turbine recycling company failed to properly dispose of the waste and instead created a stockpile of more than 3,000 wind turbine blades and parts.

These stockpiles, according to Paxton’s office, created unpermitted, illegal disposal sites that have affected the land and threaten nearby communities. The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard on Sept. 13, 2027.

USA TODAY reached out to Global Fiberglass Solutions for comment, but has not heard back.

What does the injunction do?

The injunction stipulates a timeline of what Global Fiberglass Solutions should do.

Here is a brief overview of it:

• June 10: Global Fiberglass Solutions must stop accepting shipments of wind turbine blades and stop disposing of them.

• 30 days after June 10: Global Fiberglass Solutions must deposit a bond of at least $3.5 million with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as financial assurance.

• 180 days after June 10:

  • The company must obtain all necessary permits from TCEQ to process the blades at its facilities, and then process and remove the blades.

  • Or identify a secondary TCEQ-approved waste disposal facility that can properly accept, process, and dispose of the blades.

• 270 days after June 10: The company must remove 25% of the blades.

• One year after June 10: The company must remove 50% of the blades.

• 460 days after June 10: The company must remove 75% of the blades.

• 550 days after June 10: The company must remove all the blades.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas orders cleanup of thousands of dumped wind turbine blades