Deep moment, cue montage of oceans, mountains and highway full of hybrids or something. "What if every biillboard you drove by every day was actually a powerplant?" And then think that maybe, just for a moment, the world could be better.


Then snap back to reality. You are at work where your potential is limited and nobody cares about anything. Still, this San Franciscan Pacific Gas and Electric billboard actually draws its power from the grid, but sports 20 solar panels that gather enough energy to keep its energy deficit in the black (since the panels produce more energy than the billboard uses). That bottom line stays within reason with the help of our favorite dork technology, LEDs, which keep the billboard energy efficient even at night.

Ranging from 2.5-3.4 kilowatt hours of electricity produced during the day, with its peak production powering a household of four (we're guessing that example represents net after power usage is taken into account). It's one of those ideas that makes you think, "Why the hell aren't we doing this?" And then you remember that solar panels cost money and that people like money. [livescience via treehugger]