These Designs Are Changing the Face of Renewables

29 May 15:00 by Steve Walia


We might all be familiar with wind farms and solar PV panels nowadays, but renewable energy technologies also allow designers to come to the fore with fresh and unusual designs. These are just some changing the way that our landscape and clean energy generation could look in the future.


Floating Wind Farms

The first floating wind farm in the world is being built in Scotland. Hywind is a full-scale trial that s being built in Peterhead. It will allow developers to harvest energy from the wind in waters that are too deep for conventional grounded turbines. The project is working to generate power for 20,000 homes and may prove to be a template for further sites.


The Chinese Panda Solar Farm

The design of the solar energy farm in China's region of Datong is shaped as a Giant Panda - the national animal of China. It's the size of two football pitches, a popular visual spot from the air and producing enough energy for nearly 18,000 homes.


A Wind-Powered Adventure Park

Qurrent, the Dutch renewables firm, has produced plans to create a sustainable theme park. It would use wind energy to power rides and to create new amusement rides from wind turbines themselves. A giant wind turbine would also create a spiral-shaped water slide. It's unlikely to become a reality for the time being, but it does create an exciting vision for the future.


Solar-Energy Super-Trees

In Bay South garden in Singapore, visitors will spot super-trees which have integrated solar panels that convert solar energy into power. The 18 trees are also vertical gardens in their own right and provide shade to keep the city cool. Rainwater harvesting gathers clean water to add back to the environment.