Motorists in Cape Town, South Africa, are now looking up at the city's first solar-powered traffic lights.
A report from the South African Press Association details the new installation, at the busy intersection of Edna Street and Montagu's Gift Road, is primarily designed to improve savings on municipal electricity bills – the country's National Energy Efficiency Agency estimates the 24/7 traffic lights use the same amount of electricity as a family of four occupying a three-bedroom house. The cost for this pilot project is approximately $22,000.
However, Cape Town's significant crime problem has been considered as part of the installation: The batteries for the new solar-powered traffic lights are encased in a specially designed concrete casing at the foot of each traffic pole.
