The ongoing lawsuit against Global Fiberglass Solutions and its executives, Donald Lilly and Ronald Albrecht, revolves around the alleged illegal dumping of wind-turbine blades in Iowa, violating the state’s solid-waste laws.
The State of Iowa accuses the company of stockpiling roughly 1,300 discarded wind-turbine blades across multiple locations in the state instead of recycling them, as promised under agreements with General Electric and MidAmerican Energy.
Despite a consent order in 2020 that required Global to install recycling equipment and post a $2 million bond to cover the cost of cleanup, the company failed to comply.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2024, seeks civil penalties of up to $5,000 per day for each day Global remained out of compliance. Executives Lilly and Albrecht are fighting the case, arguing that the court lacks jurisdiction over them due to their lack of presence in Iowa.
However, the state counters that, as top officers of the company, they were in positions to influence its actions. A trial setting conference is scheduled for January 21, 2024.