NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
A7
Old wind turbine parts get new life
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Winds
of change are turning heads
and generating excitement
at B&K Auto Salvage and
Recycling.
The gusts are blowing in
from wind farms in Arling-
ton, 125 miles to the west,
in the form of semi-trucks
carrying parts from wind
turbines that have been
shut down due to declin-
ing condition after decades
of use.
La Grande’s B&K has
been contracted by a wind
farm-related organization
to cut up wind turbine parts
and send the metal to Port-
land for recycling.
Cutting up the wind tur-
bine parts, which consist of
gearboxes, main shafts and
blade hubs, is anything but
a breeze because of their
size, according to Danny
Huddleston, the recycling
manager at B&K.
“The gearboxes weigh
45,000
pounds,
and
the main shafts and the
blade hubs weigh 50,000
pounds,” he said.
The metal wind turbine
parts are being cut with
acetylene torches by a crew
working for B&K from
Premier Scrap Processing.
The auto salvage busi-
ness began receiving ship-
ments from wind farms
in the Arlington area on
Thursday, Sept. 1. B&K
has received 141 ship-
ments from semi-trucks as
of Sept. 20.
“We usually get 10 to
14 shipments a day,” Hud-
dleston said.
On some occasions as
many as three semi-trucks
have arrived at B&K
almost at the same time,
causing passing motor-
ists to do double takes.
Huddleston said he enjoys
explaining to these people
what is happening.
“This is definitely turn-
ing heads. People will say,
Danny Huddleston/Contributed Photo
Jake Hanson, right, owner of B&K Auto Salvage and Recycling, and Dave Vernam, owner and operator of Vemco Crane Service, examine an old wind turbine part from
Arlington on Sept. 19, 2022, at B&K in La Grande.
Dick Mason/The Observer
Members of a crew from Premier Scrap Processing cut up old parts from wind turbines with acety-
lene torches at B&K Auto Salvage and Recycling on Sept. 19, 2022, in La Grande.
‘What is happening?’ It is
nuts,” he said. “It is pretty
neat to get stop-ins like
this.”
Each truck carries only
a gearbox, a main shaft or
a blade hub. Truckers can-
not transport more than
one item, Huddleston said,
because of state and fed-
eral weight laws.
Once a truck arrives at
B&K, a crane with a hook
lifts the turbine part out
and lowers it to the ground.
B&K is never sent the
aging blades of old wind
turbines because they are
made of balsa wood, some-
thing the La Grande com-
pany does not handle, Hud-
dleston said.
The gearboxes, main
shafts and blade hubs B&K
receives are all 20-25 years
old. Huddleston said that
when the wind turbines
were installed many peo-
ple believed they would last
about 15 years. Their lon-
gevity was probably under-
rated, he said, because there
were a lot of unknowns 25
years ago.
“It was not known how
much the turbines would be
turning,” he said.
To create room for the
wind turbine parts, the
company removed about
100 automobiles from its
storage yard. They were
crushed and then sent out so
the metal could be recycled.
B&K, owned by Jake
Hanson, is working with
Vemco Crane Service,
United Hauling and United
Metals to help wind turbine
parts get recycled. It will
be receiving shipments of
wind turbine parts for at
least another two weeks.
Huddleston said B&K’s
goal is to have all of the
John Day/Canyon City Pool
Fact Sheet
metal for the wind turbine
parts cut up before win-
ter hits because it is harder
to work then. One of the
biggest challenges win-
ter poses is the deep snow
and mud it creates, which
makes it easy to lose things
that do not turn up again
until the spring.
The wind turbine metal
parts B&K is cutting up
are being sent to Schnitzer
Steel in Portland. Hud-
dleston said the metal will
eventually be melted down
after leaving La Grande
as part of the recycling
process.
B&K, since Sept.1, has
sent two truckloads carry-
ing 60,000-68,000 pounds
of cut-up wind turbine
metal to Schnitzer Steel.
Huddleston hopes that
B&K can continue to help
recycle metal from old
wind turbines in the future.
“It is work. This keeps
everybody busy,” he said.
Huddleston added that
working with the wind
farm industry is proving to
be a delightful and illumi-
nating experience.
“It has been fascinat-
ing,” he said.
For our kids!
For our future!
MEASURE
12-85
Myth: A public pool for John Day can be built for $2 million dollars.
FACT
A public pool must be adhere to code and other regulations.
Fencing, office space, and restrooms are required.
The recently discussed $2 million public pool projects are not comparable to the John Day/Canyon City project. One is a small
component of a much larger $70 million recreational complex. Another is a small non-competition pool that will be built on the footprint of
the old pool and doesn't include buildings. A public pool must meet high standards for safety and accessibility. All necessary features
need to be included for the facility to operate.
Myth: There wasn’t enough opportunity to give public input and get information about the pool.
FACT
There have been multiple ways to learn about and comment on
the pool plans, beginning in the 1990s.
Some examples of information sharing and community involvement in the plan are: the 1997 John Day Swim Center and Chinese Cultural
Center Report; the 2009 Kam Wah Chung Master Plan; steering and stakeholder committees formed in 2017; a 2021 community survey;
Parks and Rec and city of John Day open houses in April 2022; and ongoing city council and parks and rec public meetings.
Myth: There was no need to tear down Gleason pool and the plan was pushed through too quickly.
FACT
Repairing Gleason Pool was considered as an alternative to
building a new pool.
A 1997 report recommended building the new pool at the 7th street location rather than the Gleason location. It also recognized the
need to expand the Kam Wah Chung site. A conditions assessment in 2020 determined that the cost of repairs and upgrades would be
very high. Experts said that renovating the pool would only extend its lifespan for about 10 years. A new pool will serve the community for
many decades.
Myth: The proposed pool design is extravagant.
FACT
The proposed pool is a modest design--essentially a
modernized version of Gleason.
The design is ADA-accessible, sized to accommodate swim meets, and includes adequate office space. It will meet Oregon Health
Authority requirements for public pools. Consolidating JDCCPR offices into one building will limit operational and utility costs. Including a
multi-purpose room adds potential revenue and community space. The pool is designed so that it can be enclosed in the future, if the tax
base can support that improvement.
For more information visit www.swimcenter.vote or find us on Facebook @Friends-of-JDCC-Parks-and-Rec
Paid for by Friends of JDCC Parks and Rec (22412)