Solar lily pads deliver green energy to Glasgow, Scotland
By Triston McIntyre
In the endless search to develop technology that harvests green energy, a Scottish architecture design firm has taken a page out of nature’s book and designed various sized solar energy panels that look identical to lily pads. The solar lily pads are designed to float in the river and harvest the sun’s energy.
Inhabitat reports that Scottish architecture design firm ZM Architecture has created a vision of technological beauty in its solar lily pad project. Large solar panels of various elliptical shapes and sizes are designed to float in the River Clyde of Glasgow.
The panels will harvest solar energy for distribution to the national energy grid. Ideally, the green project will also stimulate riverfront activity as people come to see the unique solar arrays. The city plans on testing the project on a small section of the river to estimate effectiveness and evaluate problems with the project.
Most interesting from an energy efficiency perspective is that the lily pads won’t rest completely stationary in the river; the pads are designed with motors that will rotate the pads, which have angled surfaces, so as to best absorb the sun’s rays as it moves through the sky.
Projects and designs like these seem to be more aesthetically appealing to normal citizens, and will likely receive more support than ungainly wind turbines or roof-mounted solar arrays. If designers can find a way to bring beauty (especially by replicating natural elements like lily pads), no doubt such projects will find support by governments and normal people.
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May 14th, 2008
I think this is a bloody brilliant idea. Not only will they be aesthetically pleasing, and draw crowds of green loving citizens to take a gander at these lovely sun soaking lily pads, but it all will contribute to a better, and greener world to live in. Does anyone here live green in their homes? I know that people using sustainable energy in their homes is on the rise, but I would like to know just how many people out there actively contribute to being greener by incorporating these technologies in their homes? Has anyone here heard of bioheat as an alternative to regular oil heat? It uses a b5 blend of oils which is comprised of avocados, hemp, and corn, among other things. I think it’s really worth it to switch over to to bioheat, because it costs the same but is better on the environment. Does anyone here plan on switching?
Check out http://oilheatamerica.com/index.mv?screen=bioheat for more info! I work with NORA as well to bring you this info. :-)