‘Lit by 100% eco-power’ is what the billboard watching over Times Square tells you and for once you can believe the advertisers without questioning their morals or the legitimacy of their ads. Advertising industry is also looking to go green and that can only be good for all concerned. The industry has indeed come of age and that is all the more true in some of the countries of the world. Ricoh is building a nature powered billboard, scheduled to go up in Times Square this December.
The new billboard is going to be the first of its kind to hook up and watch over the streets of New York. It will be powered completely by the wind and the sun. This solar and wind powered giant ad is only the third in the world. The other two are Pacific Gas & Electric’s in San Francisco and Ricoh’s original eco billboard in Tokyo. The ad’s lighting will be powered by 45 solar panels and 4 wind turbines. This means that all the power it needs will be green making it “100% green”
Now what happens on a day when the sun stops shining and the wind stays still? Not much, in fact nothing. This one does not have any back-up power source, but that a scenario seems unlikely for now, or so the makers feel.
