Renewable energy pioneer ACCIONA has teamed up with professional surfer Josh Kerr and his brand, Draft Surf, to create the world’s first surfboards made from decommissioned wind turbine blades. The project is more than just an experiment in sustainability - it’s a return to an unexpected, decades-old connection between wind energy and surfing.
Thirty years ago, when ACCIONA built one of its first wind farms in Spain, it turned to local surfboard shapers to provide assistance if a blade required repairing.
New life in the green room: repurposed turbine blade strips built into the deck for strength and flex control.
“No one else had the same level of experience working with fibreglass,” says Brett Wickham, managing director ACCIONA Energia Australia, “It made sense then, and it makes even more sense now, to bring these two worlds together.”
That legacy of innovation has continued in Australia, where ACCIONA has been a corporate partner of Surfing Australia since 2019.
“Our goal is simple - we want a future where people live in harmony with nature,” says Wickham.
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Brett Wickham, managing director ACCIONA Energia Australia.
“And what better way to demonstrate that than by turning wind energy infrastructure into something surfers can actually ride?”
Crafting boards from turbine blades
The journey began with a retired blade from ACCIONA’s Waubra Wind Farm in Victoria. The blade had been in operation since 2008, generating 14,773 MWh of clean energy - enough to prevent 19,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to planting over 5000 trees.
Once decommissioned, the blade was mechanically processed into particulate material, which Draft Surf then used to construct 10 prototype boards in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast.
“The material properties of wind turbine blades and surfboards are actually really similar,” says Kerr, who waxes lyrical about the board’s specs and performance.
“The particulate is about 70 to 80 per cent fibreglass and 20 to 30 per cent thermoset resin, which is really close to the fibreglass and epoxy mix we already use in high-performance surfboards.”
Each board features:
Repurposed turbine blade strips built into the deck for strength and flex control.
Glassed-in fins made from recycled fibreglass to enhance stability, drive, and speed.
An outer shell reinforced with recycled turbine particulate, adding durability and dampening.
Performance testing in extreme conditions
To put the boards to the test, Kerr took them to Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm in South Australia, a location known for its powerful surf and rugged coastline. “This was no gentle beach break,” he says. “It was serious waves, shallow reef, and steep cliff faces - the kind of place where you really need to trust your board.”
The results were impressive. “The fins held their line beautifully, the flex pattern inserts from the blade gave just the right amount of stiffness, and the ground-up turbine particulate in the resin added some extra strength and dampening,” says Kerr.
Professional surfer Josh Kerr whose brand, Draft Surf, created the boards.
“They paddled well, turned tight, and had great stability.”
A circular approach to sustainability
ACCIONA’s Turbine Made initiative, launched in February 2025, is dedicated to finding innovative ways to recycle decommissioned wind turbine blades. The surfboard project is one of several applications the company is exploring.
“Sustainability isn’t just about reducing waste,” says Mariola Domenech, ACCIONA Energía’s global sustainability director. “It’s about making sure that what we build today doesn’t become tomorrow’s environmental challenge.”
ACCIONA has already found other uses for recycled turbine blades, including:
Partnering with European fashion brand El Ganso to create sneakers with blade material in their soles.
Integrating blade material into torsion beams for solar trackers in Spain.
Developing a blade recycling plant in Navarra, Spain, with the capacity to process 6,000 tonnes of material per year.
The future of recycled surfboards
For now, the turbine-made surfboards remain prototypes and are not available for commercial purchase. However, the project has sparked significant interest within both the surfing and renewable energy communities.
“Surfers have a deep connection to the environment,” says Wickham. “By giving them boards made from upcycled materials, we’re reinforcing that bond and proving that performance and sustainability can go hand in hand.”
ACCIONA and Draft Surf unveiled the boards at a special event at URBNSURF in Sydney, where media, influencers, and the public had the chance to experience them firsthand. The initiative is also being supported by a broader campaign, featuring artwork from renowned illustrator Jake Foreman.
“There’s so much potential here,” says Kerr. “This is just the start - we’re already thinking about what else we can create using recycled materials. It’s an exciting time for both surfing and sustainability.”
The initiative has even drawn praise from the federal government. Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, recently described the partnership a “real, practical example” of how renewable energy infrastructure can be recycled rather than wasted.
He said that around 90 per cent of a wind tower’s materials can be repurposed into products like surfboards, shoes, and playground equipment.
“So, when you see someone saying, ‘What are we going to do with all the waste?’ - we’re going to recycle the waste,” Bowen said, while commending ACCIONA’s leadership in demonstrating circular economy principles in renewable energy.
To find out more, or to take part in ACCIONA’s Turbine Made initiative, please visit ACCIONA.
