Can Solar Power Save Our Cities?

The Earth’s sun is a limitless source of energy and perhaps one of the most underutilized resources we have available to us. However that may soon change. European cities have already begun experimenting with ways to integrate solar panels into their communities. In 2007 the city of Vienna allowed artist Ross Lovegrove to install solar panel “trees” as part of the MAKDesignNite at the MAK museum. Not only a conceptual art project but also an experiment in the feasibility of  integrating modular urban lighting systems into city landscapes.  Although foreign to us now, in the future, modular solar lighting systems could come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Solar powered street signs and solar paneled rooftops could become part of our city scene, just as street lights and telephone poles have in the last 100 years.

The transition has been slow in introducing solar energy into our modern cities however experts expect that to change dramatically in the the next 20 years. California will soon be one of the first states to see the development of solar rooftop  ”farms”, as Southern California Edison announced plans to lease commercial rooftop space from ProLogis, an owner and developer of distribution facilities.

Some urban dwellers, tired of their dependence of power companies, are installing their own rooftop panels. The amount of money saved by producing their own energy basically pays for the system itself in the long run. Installations companies such as Empire Solar, help individuals assess options by taking into account the homeowners energy usage and designing a system that will work within their surroundings. By producing their own energy homeowners are no longer at the mercy of their local power companies and for some, that is reason enough to make the change.

Will we as a society adapt to the growing changes? Only time will tell but it certainly will be exciting to see how sustainable energy evolves over the next 20 years and how it will effect not only our environment but our lifestyles.