San Francisco unveils first solar-powered bus shelter/wireless hot spot

The first of 1,100 planned solar-powered bus shelters has been unveiled in San Francisco. The other 1,099 will be installed across the city over the next four years.

The roof of the bus shelter is made up of thin-film solar panels embedded in a 40 percent post-industrial recycled polycarbonate material in a rolling wave shape. The structure of the shelter is made of recycled steel and other materials.

The solar roof powers an intercom, LED lighting and wireless routers, so that the bus shelters will become wireless hot spots around the city. The shelters will feed any excess energy generated by the solar panels to the city grid.

While solar-powered bus shelters are not a new concept, it's cool to see an American city deploying them, especially using them to spread wi-fi throughout the city. San Francisco is once again setting a great example.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/1099/san-francisco-unveils-first-solar-powered-bus-shelter.html