Swiss Startup Turn2Sun Uses Recycled Wind Turbine Blades to Support Solar Panels

With over 300,000 wind turbines installed worldwide, Swiss startup Turn2Sun uses recycled wind turbine blades as horizontal supports for solar panels instead of metal beams.

Introducing Blade2Sun of Swiss Startup Turn2Sun

The startup Turn2Sun based in Switzerland, claimed that the company's innovation could help accelerate the deployment of solar energy by using upcycled, used turbine blades as a platform for solar PV panels. According to Electrek, Turn2Sun calls these recycled wind turbine blades to support solar panels "Blade2Sun."

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

The model, tested at around 2,500 meters in the Swiss Alps, features panels mounted on a monoaxial tracker and strapped to a used turbine blade. Through this design, the reused turbines will allow the panels to follow the sun's movement during the day by sliding horizontally on the fixed blades.

Reusing Old Wind Turbines

The Turn2Sun's 8.4-meter blades used in the prototype, which Wind Power Monthly reported, will support 16 solar PV panels of 430W each.

Turn2Sun pointed out that the design, featuring a vertical tubular foundation, also reduces the physical footprint linked with other solar PV panel arrays to reduce its ecological impact.

More than 95% of a wind turbine's components could reportedly be recycled, but the blades are still challenging to recycle, as they are made from composite materials such as fiberglass. Thus, used blades are usually burned in incineration plants or cement plants.

However, some turbine makers have launched solutions for this, which include using a new chemical process or modifying the epoxy resin in blades to disassemble them into their constituent materials.

The company reportedly takes advantage of the strength properties of the used blades to support a metal structure that accommodates bifacial solar panels.

Interested Economic Players

Co-founder Lionel Perret noted that several "global players" were already interested in what the company could offer. He said they had plans to install arrays in car parks, over reservoirs, agricultural fields, and alongside roads.

He described the innovation as a genuine upcycling solution, giving new value to used blades for a new cycle in the upcoming years.

Chief Executive Officer Raymond Voillat echoed Perret's statements that the company is receiving several messages of interest from economic players by starting discussions with him and the company.

GGB reported that more than 340,000 wind turbines are currently installed in the world, with Europe consisting of 25,000 wind turbines that reach end-of-life in the upcoming years.

While recycling the wind turbine's components is not impossible, this will still be challenging to execute, knowing that they are made from a combination of reinforced fibers, usually glass or carbon fibers, and a polymer matrix.

Turn2Sun was reportedly founded only last year, and it continues to innovate in the solar energy field with its two-way solar technology that minimizes the impact on the ground and uses a maximum of sustainable materials.