A Solar Tree grows in London
LONDON, ONTARIO - The city of London, Ontario tourism offices recently erected an unusual and visually stunning outdoor art installation – the Solar Tree.
Designed to mimic the City of London, CanadaÂ’s logo, the Tourism LondonÂ’s Solar Tree is a more than 8 metre tall structure featuring 27 leaves, each of which contains a solar panel.
This structure – along with three other, pole-mounted solar panels – can produce 8.6 kilowatts of electricity, enough to provide for about half the electricity needs of the Tourism London offices.
As far as the cost of the system – $160,000 - Tourism London is quick to point out that it will come at no cost whatsoever to the taxpayer, as over the course of a 10-year contract, recently signed with the Ontario Power Authority’s microFIT program, the Solar Tree system will more than save enough in utility costs to offset the purchase price, and will create a $165,000 profit.
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