Times Square will soon get the first ecofriendly billboard that is completely powered by the sun and wind. The $3 million billboard will weigh 35,000 pounds and will be placed 55 meters above the ground. The billboard will get all the power it needs from 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels that together will generate about 22 kilowatts of power. Construction on this monster billboard will commence this month, for a lighting ceremony on December 4.
Ricoh has taken this billboard on lease for a period of three years. However, the company has not disclosed the amount they have spent on the deal. Experts believe that Ricoh would be paying somewhere close to $200,000 a month for this ecofriendly billboard. But things could get way cheaper for Ricoh, as the company will not be paying any electricity charges to keep the billboard glowing, as the wind turbines and solar panels will be able to save about $15,000 per month and about 18 tons of carbon.
The billboard will make use of 16 300-watt floodlights to keep the company’s name glowing on Times Square. Each of the 16 turbines will carry 26 blades that can generate the required amount of power from even a mild 10-mile-per-hour wind. The blades are designed to keep the passersby safe even in hurricane winds.
The Dark Side:
The billboard will not have any backup power generator. That means after a couple of non-windy cloudy days the billboard will go dark, something that Ricoh will have to accept, even after paying more than $200,000 per month.
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