Do you like the advert riddled tack fest that is Piccadilly Circus or Time Square?  Yes, they’re iconic.  Yes, they’ve appeared in several films.  But they are a bit ugly.  I may only feel this because the American’s do the lit up bill boards better than us Brits but I’m not that much of a fan.  Except, that is, for one.

The printing firm Ricoh will be erecting Times Square’s first electronic billboard powered purely by solar and wind energy.

The 47′ x 126′ sign will be illuminated by floodlights and make use of 45 solar panels and 4 wind turbines.  Apparently, if there is not enough solar or wind power, the Times Square sign will not be illuminated.

The release comes with a rather scary statistic – according to Ricoh, using all natural energy sources, means 18 tons of CO2 per year will not be emmitted.  So just how much CO2 is emitted because of advertising hoardings?

The release, which naturally states how “pleased” Ricoh are to have the sign can be found here.