Solar ‘Sunflowers’ Provide Energy and Décor

Many people are put off by the less-than-impressive aesthetics of solar panels, maintaining that they take away from the visual impact of a home or business, while others insist that looks shouldn’t be a factor. But if more solar panels were like these flower-shaped ones by public art team Harries/Heder, nobody would have any cause to quibble.

15 of these ‘sunflowers’ sprouted up in Austin, Texas, on a pedestrian and bike path between the village of Mueller and highway I-35. From Inhabitat:

When construction on Mueller, a mixed-use urban village in Austin, Texas first began nearly a decade ago, developers set up a number of environmental and aesthetic rules to safeguard the green spaces and keep the town from taking on an industrial feel. So when a massive retail lot was proposed, Mueller agreed to let it be built on one condition: loading docks behind the stores had to be covered up. Enter Sunflowers, An Electric Garden — Austin’s largest public art installation.

The solar flowers collect sunlight during the day to power their own blue LEDs at night, turning them into an illuminated art display. Unused power is fed back into the grid.

Solar + art = smart! Design like this makes solar energy desirable to everyone.

Link [Inhabitat]

Reuters Reporters Can’t Believe Billionaire Oilman Is Investing in Wind to Make Money

With a name like T. Boone Pickens, Jr., how could you not grow up to be a billionaire oilman?

80 year old T. Boone made his billions over the decades by growing his oil company through a flurry of mergers and acquisitions and is now setting his sites on the wind. His plan calls for spending $10B to build the worlds largest wind farm in Texas.

I found this news in a Reuters story, author Chris Baltimore seems blown away that someone actually expects to make money by doing something green. Check out:

But Pickens is not out to save the planet. He intends to make money.

Golly gee, a businessman invests in a green business and isn’t doing it to make the world a happier and shinier place? He actually will make money? Stop the presses, 1999 wants it’s storyline back.

Link [Reuters]