Monday, January 17, 2011

Solar Tree - My World Tuesday

The Tourism centre in my city now greets visitors with a giant, photovoltaic metal tree, and companion solar panels, that will produce 10,000 kW of solar energy annually.

Click the pic to enlarge
 
The Solar Tree is designed in the image of the City logo; a visual landmark to highlight this clean, renewable energy project. The giant metal tree features twenty-seven solar panels, each mounted to a leaf.
  • It is a 8.6 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic, ground-mounted system
  • 3 pole mounted arrays (about 8 kWs) plus one unique, solar tree  (about 0.5 kWs)
  • Solar Tree is 7 meters (23 feet) tall, has 27 leaves, each producing power
  • The system will generate 10,000 kWh’s per year, about ½ of the annual electricity needs for the tourism building .  (When the sun is shining, these panels could power up to 7 homes)
  • Cost of project: $160,000
  • Expected revenue: $165,000 over the 20-year contract
  • The system will offset up to 10 tonnes of CO2 per year from coal-fired power plants
See more photos from around the world HERE

22 comments:

  1. What an interesting post for the day, Karen! Terrific capture and I love the information you've shared with us! Hope you have a wonderful week!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  2. I call it the tree of light!

    Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great idea! Now I am wondering where you live! :) I love the shadow cast by the Solar Tree.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There might not be sap running through the veins of this tree but there is plenty of energy as your unique photo shows. Thanks for sharing this interesting part of your world, Karen!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very interesting and I love the shot of it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great photo, great idea, and great explanation. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I´ve seen solar trees in science programs, but they did not look like that. It´s cool. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very interesting and what a bright idea!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very interesting, I had wondered if solar cells would pay for themselves so far north, I guess they do.
    Our primary residence generates about 90% of our usage from solar and our vacation home 100% and is off the grid.

    ReplyDelete
  10. how interesting and cool! which city are you speaking of?

    ReplyDelete
  11. An interesting and creative way to get the message across. Not to mention, quite the conversation starter!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like that idea! Much better looking than just plain panels.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love that tree, it looks awesome! In my town, the Air Force Academy just broke ground on a 30-acre, $18-million solar panel project, which is supposed to generate 6 megawatts! At least until we get our next major hailstorm...

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is a great way to generate energy. Design is very good.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It's actually quite attractive! I wish I had one in my backyard hooked up to my house!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I agree with Betsy. I was just looking at catalogues of trees, shrubs and flowers, but this beats even the honeysuckle hedge! I love it.
    We live in the sunniest part of Canada, southeastern Alberta, and I can't convince my husband to put solar panels on our south-facing roof.
    Wow, this tree is more than awesome.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow! What a fantastic functional sculpture. Great photo.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fascinating and meaningful endeavor... in Singapore, where I am from, there is growing interest in transparent solar panels for homes, bus shelters, walkways, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a wonderful solar tree, and very unique!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great photo and an interesting post. The solar tree is quite attractive...better than solar panels. It makes a nice photo against the blue sky and white snow.

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a brilliant concept.
    Thank you for featuring this.
    So much better than the ghastly wind turbines. I wonder how they compare in output.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Awesome project- love the design. Something to be proud of.

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave a comment, and hey, why not follow my blog too.
I can't respond to every comment, but I will return the favour and visit your blog. I have turned off word verification, but it randomly shows up, that's a BLOGGER glitch.