One penny:

Well you don't have to chop off the solar cells to illuminate the stepchildren.

Momma nature has this covered.
She uses wind power, so can we. (mus' be why they're called "fan leaves", yah?)

Tuppence:

And when in the doldrums?

As the planet turns the shadows shift and everybody gets a turn at a tan.
So, if your oscillating fan should become an osculating fan. (the kiss of death)
Simply install a light mover, and stop with all the chop.

A little info:
Fan leaf feeds stalk growth from each node.
Removing them can limit "stretch" .
When the plants are through growing stalk, they suck the stored energy from the fans and then discard them safely.
They fade, yellow, form an abscission layer to prevent sap loss, and then drop to the root zone to recover their minerals as well.

Wanna know what is optimum for our green friends?
Observe, research, and think about what you see.
There is reason and logic in nature. We jus' gotta look for it.

Aloha,
Weezard