Attorney General Brenna Bird Announces Court Victory in Wind Turbine Removal Case

DES MOINES—Attorney General Brenna Bird announced today the Iowa Supreme Court has agreed with her office that an executive of Global Fiberglass Solutions (GFS) can be personally named in the state’s lawsuit against his company for refusing to dispose of over 1,000 wind turbine blades after they were hired to do so.  

“GFS violated Iowa’s solid waste laws. They were hired to dispose of used wind turbine blades; instead, they dumped and abandoned 1,300 of them in stockpiles across the state,” said Attorney General Bird. “It is only right that their top executive is named in this lawsuit. Because of the executive’s bad decision making, GFS broke our laws and created an environmental hazard. I am grateful for the decision of the court.” 

In 2017, GFS was contracted and paid millions of dollars by two major wind-turbine companies to cut up, transport, and recycle the blades. Instead, GFS let the approximately 1,300 blades sit in stockpiles for years between the three sites in Ellsworth, Newton, and Atlantic, Iowa. GFS failed to recycle the blades even after the Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued orders calling for cleanup. 

The state sued GFS and its executives, Donald Lilly and Ronald Albrecht, for violating Iowa’s solid waste laws. After today’s ruling, Donald Lilly will remain on the complaint.  

By 2024, the wind turbine companies who hired GFS had completed cleanup of the blades all three sites. 

Read the full decision here.  

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Contact: Jen Green | jen.green@ag.iowa.gov