The holidays would not be complete with an article about solar powered Christmas trees. Last year I was writing about LED Christmas lights saving energy on trees and in 2006 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was lighting up a fuel cell Christmas tree in Sacramento.
But, this year several locations have gone the solar tree route. First, in the Philippines, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes powered on a 40-foot Christmas tree powered by solar energy. The switching on of the solar tree is part of the SWITCH 3 Light-A-Million-Homes program.
Second, in Boone, North Carolina 150 showed up on 20-degree weather for the lighting of the town’s solar Christmas tree. The event was organized by the Appalachian State University Sustainable Energy Society.
And, third, perhaps the most well-known Christmas tree, the one at Rockefeller Center in New York is also powered by solar energy. This world-famous tree stands 72-feet tall with 30,000 lights upon it. The lighting event this year featured Beyoncé Knowles, Rosie O’Donnell, Tony Bennett and Al Roker.
Now, I suppose if you are going to go to the time, trouble and expense to light a large Christmas tree, then doing it as greenly and economically would be the way to go. But, doesn’t it seem a bit ironic to cut down nature’s solar collector (a tree) just to power it by sunlight once again?
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