Swiss prototype mounts solar panels on recycled wind turbine blades

Turn2Sun is based in Switzerland and owned by Swiss consultants PlanAir. The company claims it can help accelerate the deployment of solar energy by using upcycled, used turbine blades set on a horizontal axis as a platform for solar PV panels.

Turn2Sun claims its Blade2Sun prototype could create a use for end-of-life wind turbine blades and prevent them from going to landfill.

“The strength of the blades enables structures with broad wingspan, covering large areas with minimal ground use thanks to spaced out foundations. This in turns lets you install large PV arrays with reduced impact on the land underneath,” the company stated. 

The model, which was tested at around 2,500 metres in the Swiss Alps, features panels mounted on a monoaxial tracker that is itself strapped to used turbine blades. The design allows the panels to follow the movement of the sun during the day by sliding along the horizontal axis of the fixed turbine blades. 

The 8.4-metre blades used in the prototype reportedly supported 16 solar PV panels of 430W each. 

Turn2Sun pointed out that the design – which features a vertical tubular foundation – also reduces the physical footprint associated with other solar PV panel arrays to reduce its ecological impact. 

Co-founder Lionel Perret claimed “several global players” are interested in his company’s solution, with plans to install arrays in car parks, over reservoirs, in agricultural fields and alongside roads.

Between 85% and 90% of a wind turbine’s total mass can be recycled at present, with blades accounting for much of the deficit. This is because blades contain complex composite materials – a combination of reinforced fibres, usually glass or carbon fibres, and a polymer matrix.  

Turbine makers have launched solutions for this, including by using a new chemical process or modifying the epoxy resin in blades to disassemble blades into their constituent materials.