It's Not A Billboard, It's a Power Plant
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 4.07
We do love a clever billboard and this one is also a real producer, generating 3.4 Kw of electricity during the day, which they describe as enough for a family of four. It has no storage and takes electricity from the grid at night, but is a net producer.
"The energy that is collected by the solar panels actually exceeds the amount used by it on a day-to-day basis," said Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) spokesperson Jennifer Zelwer of the standard-sized billboard, which proclaims: "This isn't a billboard. It's a power plant."
Zelwer told Live Science: "The energy that is collected by the solar panels actually exceeds the amount used by it on a day-to-day basis," said Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) spokesperson Jennifer Zelwer of the standard-sized billboard, which proclaims: "This isn't a billboard. It's a power plant."
Zelwer cautioned that solar-powered placard is only for show at this time, but said she would eventually like to see similar ones replacing standard billboards up and down highways. "If these are going to be en masse in the future, that certainly that would be a wonderful thing," she said. ::Live Science
See an earlier South African solar billboard here;
interesting idea, take something that is often ugly, and generally overruns most cities and make it useful. It will still be an ugly eyesore, but at least it will be a useful eyesore.
when I see other cities covered in billboards, i feel lucky to live in Austin - we have laws which limit the number of bill boards, where they can be placed, and what can be advertised on them. Austin is beautifully green, as in lots of trees, and intends to maintain it's views for everyone.
In Los Angeles, we have a lot of billboard-sized LCD-type moving billboards now. When we went through that whole power-outage during an especially hot labor day weekend, I thought about what an absurd waste of energy they were, and I thought about launching a campaign to make sure that power to things like that would be shut off when demand on the grid was high enough to cause potential blackouts. Now I think I should skip the mandatory power shut-off to frivolous uses of energy, and just skip right to making frivolous uses of energy generate their own. Too bad I doubt 3.4 Kw would come close to powering one of those for 24 hour period.
It's not a billboard, it's Photoshop.
I'm pretty sure this is faked. PGE.com doesn't seem to show this, and 1: look at the text, esp on the left, it doesn't seem to fit the billboard's perspective. 2: The solar panels on the top, assuming they would be perfectly rectangular, all seem skewed. 3: Big orange tube just looks way out of place.
The news seems real, just the image looks faked.
Ummm... no, it's not Photo-chopped.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1084971~PG_E_unveils_solar_powered_billboard_in_S_F_.html
I had a thought awhile back about installing small, stationary turbines and/or solar cells on top of telephone poles, especially in rural areas where the ratio of poles to homes is much higher.
They would have to be extremely reliable to make it work, though...
Hate to burst your bubble..... But it's REAL>>>>
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/othercities/sanfrancisco/stories/2007/12/03/daily9.html?b=1196658000%5E1558875
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. unveiled the nation's first solar-powered billboard, at 1000 Brannan St.
The billboard, visible from the 9th St. exit off Highway 101, is outfitted with 20 solar modules that provide up to 3.4 kilowatts of renewable solar energy to the grid of San Francisco-based PG&E.
That exceeds the power used at night to illuminate the billboard's lights.
PG&E also replaced the billboard's halophane light fixtures with energy-efficient LED lights, the company said.
The solar panels were provided by SunTech Power, PG&E said.
The solar that's out there already tends to be invisible. We need signs like this making people aware that solar is working right now.
In Cambridge, MA the Porter Square Shopping Center has PV panels on the roof. The story is that they spent more on raising the panels up so that they could be seen from the street than they did on the panels themselves. Unfortunately, they didn't include a sign like this, saying Solar at Work.
Personally I agree with Chris, its a total photoshop frabrication and not a good one to boot. Get real!
This may actually exist but that photo IS NOT REAL. It is soooooooo obvious!!
The picture is art, not a photo. Here's what it really looks like; http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/billboard-5.jpg
The picture is art, not a photo. Here's what it really looks like;
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/billboard-5.jpg
Come on guys, this is ridiculous. It's an even bigger eye soar. How energy positive it is or not depends on cloud cover. If it takes 5 years to pay for it self (very optimistic) it's detrimental to the environment. The billboard would stay up for 6 months. If it was a good idea, all billboards would be made that way.
Anyone know why they're saying this is the first solar powered billboard in the U.S.? They've got hundreds of solar powered billboards out there; you can see several installed on I-80 on the way to Reno. This might be the first grid-connected billboard, but then the two Canadian billboards cited in PG&E's press release can't be too remarkable.
Oh my ged. I lev solar panels.