Ricoh unveiled the first ever eco-friendly billboard in Times Square. It is entirely powered by the sun and by the wind.
Coverage[]
The Ricoh Billboard is featured in Heavy Metal.
In two days after people, the New York City power grid fails causing the entire city, including most of the hundreds of signs in Times Square to go dark, but the Ricoh Billboard still lightens up, being the only source of illumination in the area.
In 6 months after people, the show introduces the sign, it explains the history and function of the Ricoh Billboard, where it was installed in 2009 and doesn't rely on the municipal power grid. 90% of the sign's power is generated by 16 wind turbines, and the remaining 10% comes from an array of 64 solar panels. It then explains that the sign's power plant can generate enough electricity to power at least 6 houses for a year. The blades of the turbines were designed to resist freezing in winter and automatically slow down in hurricane force winds in order to prevent damage. The show then continues with saying the sign would be glowing for years unless something unexpected happens.
The final event of the Ricoh Billboard happens in 3 years after people. As the streets of New York City are dark, the Ricoh Billboard still glows but something is happening. Despite gaining power from the wind and solar panels, the billboard flickers from not just from lack of power, but a simple matter of having nobody to change the lightbulbs. The billboard finally flickers out, finally joining the dark in New York City.
Gallery[]
![The billboard slowly blackens [out] in the night.](/wiki/File:RicohSignBlackOut.png "RicohSignBlackOut.png (1.07 MB)")