Made In Iowa: From Windblade Graveyards to Concrete Solutions

Guest: Nick Wylie, Founder of Renewablade As the renewable energy industry continues to expand across the Midwest, a new challenge has emerged — what happens to those massive wind turbine blades when their life cycle ends? Enter Nick Wylie and his team at Renewablade, innovators who are transforming a serious sustainability problem into an incredible opportunity. Across the country, “windblade graveyards” have been filling up — acres of composite materials that are difficult, if not impossible, to recycle. Nick saw both the environmental cost and the untapped potential. Renewablade developed a breakthrough process that repurposes decommissioned wind turbine blades into durable, practical infrastructure solutions such as jersey barriers and retaining wall blocks. These massive components, once destined for landfills, are now serving a second life — protecting roadways, stabilizing landscapes, and supporting communities. The result? A closed-loop, circular-economy solution that reduces waste, strengthens infrastructure, and redefines how we think about renewable energy’s full life cycle. In this episode, Nick shares: The origins of Renewablade and how he identified this massive gap in renewable energy waste management. The technical and logistical challenges of cutting, transporting, and reshaping wind blades into usable products. How partnerships with cities, contractors, and energy companies are fueling a new green industry born right here in Iowa. The bigger vision: positioning Iowa as a national leader in sustainable materials innovation. This conversation is a fascinating reminder that innovation doesn’t end with energy production — it continues with what we do next.