PSH Environmental uses solar-powered shredder to generate renewable energy source

United Kingdom-based PSH Environmental Ltd. has announced a project to transform scrap into a renewable energy source using solar power. 

The announcement follows the company’s reinvestment into a 12,000-square-foot building, a 40 percent extension to the yard, a new wash plant, a solar system and an XR3000C mobile shredder from Kuchl, Austria-based Untha. 

The electric powered XR3000C runs entirely on solar energy generated on-site, and the company says it can process a range of materials into alternative fuels. 

A 90-millimeter screen processes Grade C wood down to a homogenous biomass product for a local energy plant, while a 130-millimeter screen, which Untha says can be interchanged in as little as 15 minutes, enables PSH to reduce the density of other skip, bulky and commercial and industrial wastes for refuse-derived fuel. The shredder also can handle products considered economically unsuitable for shredding or too difficult to handle. 

The plant is capable of throughputs of 40 metric tons of material per hour, which amounts to 80,000 metric tons per year. 

“There will always be waste and it’s up to us to process it in the most efficient and sustainable way—that is what we are aiming to achieve here at PSH Environmental,” PSH Director Daniel Parker says. “Running a 38 [metric ton] shredder entirely off solar power may seem farfetched, but we’ve proven it’s possible.” 

Parker says talks with Untha began in 2021 at a shredding showcase in Lancashire, United Kingdom. 

“From experience, once you press the start button on a shredder, they’re on a route to self-destruct—I mean, look at what you’re trying to tackle with them,” Parker says. “But with the Untha XR3000C, you can see it is built to last. This is high-quality engineering at its finest, and the level of craft that has gone into manufacturing such a robust and refined machine, is outstanding.”