Wind turbines are the centre of many conversations in West Vic. How are they installed? Where are they going? How much do they cost?
But what happens when, as with all energy infrastructure, they reach end-of-life?
For locals who attended the Ripon Candidates Forum in early October, many asked about the technicalities of decommissioning wind turbines. Specific questions from the floor included:
What happens to the concrete base?
Does soil contamination occur?
Are landholders responsible for removing the turbines?
Local answers: The Codrington Wind Farm, in the south-west near Port Fairy and Yambuk, was first installed in 2001, but is set for retirement after producing power for Victoria for two decades.
The first commercial wind farm in the country, the farm has 14 turbines.
The project operator - Pacific Blue - has to complete the decommissioning process within 12 months of the farm ceasing operations in 2027.
Decommissioning wind farms is new territory for Victoria, but 85 - 94 percent of the turbines are recyclable.
All eyes on Codrington: A spokesperson for Pacific Blue told the Brolga it will be the first company to decommission a commercial wind farm in the National Electricity Market.
The process will involve:
Disassembly using cranes;
The breaking down of hubs, blades and nacelles on each turbine;
Organisation of components for reuse;
Land revegetation to return the site to its former use, under the landowner’s supervision and request.
Many of the turbine parts will be transported for further processing and reuse at manufacturing facilities.
The blades: The blades are the only component where the process blurs.
Across the globe, different programs have seen the blades repurposed for bus shelters, outdoor public furniture, surfboard fins and shoes.
“Pacific Blue is also supporting research with universities and local innovators to find solutions for the remaining materials, particularly composite blades,” the spokesperson said, adding that burying blades in landfill was “not an option” the company would consider.
What about the concrete: Pacific Blue told the Brolga that concrete foundation hardstands and roads at Codrington will be “covered, revegetated, allowing the land to return to its former use… to ensure the process meets [the landholder’s] expectations.”
“For example, one of our landholders operates an active quarry, and is planning an
expansion of this quarry following decommission activities,” the spokesperson said.
According to the Clean Energy Council, there is currently “little evidence” that the infrastructure leaves behind contamination remnants in the soil that pose a risk to farmland.
Digging deeper: Dr. Megan Kessler, the Policy and Research Director at RE-Alliance, published a report in July 2025 evaluating end-of-life options for renewable energy. The report included recommendations for a national framework, as well as increased infrastructure to manage materials left over from retired turbines.
“We realised there are a number of stages at the end of life of a project,” she told the Brolga. “Hence, the name retirement age renewables because it’s also about repowering and repurposing.”
Victoria does already require detailed decommissioning and rehabilitation plans as part of the planning approval process for wind farms.
Dr Kessler said the process will vary case-by-case, but plans should be negotiated directly with the landholder.
“Different landholders will set different standards for their own property,” she said. “But having said that, the default is that the site will be returned to the same purpose that it was available for before.”
Materials like concrete that are used to hold the turbines in place, Dr Kessler said, are “fairly standard” and aren’t expected to cause complications or contamination for the local environment. She explained that these factors are worked through during the initial environmental impact assessment - before proposed wind farms are even built.