On March 10, 2026, Beam Global obtained U.S. Patent No. 12,573,851 titled “Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging System with Down-Sun Wind Turbine” (the “’851 patent”). The patent is directed to a system that combines a solar panel and a wind turbine. The ’851 patent, 1:14-18.
Figure 1 of the ’851 patent illustrates an exemplary system that combines a solar panel 12 and a wind turbine 14. The patent specifies that the solar panel is positioned to avoid interfering with turbulent wind flow to the wind turbine, while the wind turbine is positioned down-sun and outside the solar panel’s shade. The ’851 patent, 3:16-26.
The ’851 patent, Fig. 1 (annotated). According to the ’851 patent, the wind turbine 14 rotates around the vertical axis 32 through an angle ψ in response to the reaction of a weathervane 34, id. at 5:58-64, while the solar panel rotates through a predetermined directional angle θ and a predetermined inclination angle Φ via a motor (not shown in Fig. 1) in accordance with a predetermined schedule, id. at 6:9-16. The patent discloses that the predetermined schedule is established based on the time of day and the path of the sun during the day. Id. at 3:27-36.
The ’851 patent contemplates that the system may be permanently installed at a specific location and connected to operate with a public grid, or configured as a mobile unit that can be periodically repositioned. The ’851 patent, 2:34-39.
Claim 1 of the ’851 patent recites:
A system for generating renewable energy, the system comprising:
a support base defining a support axis, wherein the support axis is vertical;
an extension arm mounted to the support base, wherein the extension arm has an end extending outward from the support base, and the extension arm rotates about the support axis;
a solar panel mounted to an attachment point at the end of the extension arm, wherein a first portion of the solar panel extends above the attachment point and the extension arm, a second portion of the solar panel extends below the attachment point and the extension arm, and the solar panel is rotatable through an inclination angle about the attachment point;
a first motorized mechanism configured to rotate the extension arm about the support axis;
a second motorized mechanism mounted at the end of the extension arm, and connected with the solar panel for rotating the solar panel through the inclination angle;
a controller in combination with the first motorized mechanism and the second motorized mechanism, and the controller and the first motorized mechanism collectively configured to rotate the solar panel along a directional arc about the support axis to keep the solar panel facing a direction toward the sun; and
a wind turbine mounted with respect to the extension arm and/or the support base, wherein the wind turbine rotates about a turbine axis that is parallel to the support axis, wherein the wind turbine also rotates around the support axis so that the wind turbine is and remains down-sun of the solar panel during a rotation of the solar panel along the directional arc to prevent the wind turbine from shading the solar panel, and the wind turbine is mounted above the support base and/or the solar panel whereby the solar panel does not block wind from contacting the wind turbine during the rotation along the directional arc.
The ’851 patent, 8:29-67.