Solar Trees

Solar Tree II, originally uploaded by Gnal.

In Vienna Austria they have been experimenting with solar trees. These are very aesthetically pleasing. From Solar Power Rocks:

Street lighting accounts for roughly 10% of total European energy consumption. That amounts to a staggering 2,000 billion kilowatts or nearly three billion tons of carbon emissions. While that figure is immense, then again, it’s worth it - in urban planning circles, street lighting is a tried-and-true tactic to reduce crime, increase livability, etc. And, bonus: they look like cybernetic trees.

This is a solid example of using art and aesthetics to get solar power up and running: it’s probably no coincidence that these trees have now been planted for display outside the opera house in Milan. And if people can imagine solar power as being an integrated part of their landscape, then we’ve got nowhere to go but up.