Energy Does Grow On Trees, As Israelis Design First Solar Energy eTree

By NoCamels Team October 24, 2014 2 minutes

NoCamels recently reported on the final project of Bezalel Academy of Arts student Tal Bahar entitled ‘Charge Yourself.’ When we stumbled on the idea for an urban solar-powered, phone-charging bench, we just couldn’t get enough of the environmentally-friendly and mobile technology-driven idea, until we came across the eTree. No longer in the realm of academic projects, the eTree is the brainchild of artist Yoav Ben-Dov who was commissioned to construct the urban tree habitat by the Israeli solar energy company Sologic. So what’s so magical about the idea of the eTree?

The eTree is a solar-powered urban habitat that is constructed from metal pipes and topped with solar panels. Besides producing energy from the sun to power the unit’s USB charging ports, the solar panels atop the eTree provide shade during the day and illumination at night for all those who pause for a relaxing moment under its branches. The eTree also offers a cool water drinking fountain, free WiFi, electrical outlets, sitting benches and a computer monitor that allows the visitor to communicate with visitors at other eTrees.

The kind of urban niches we need more of

According to Sologic, a Binyamina-based company founded by Larry and Dov Kotler, the environmentally friendly eTree oasis will be installed in urban areas, parks, universities and hiking trials to provide today’s connected generation with on-the-go access. The eTree will operate automatically and won’t require much maintenance, making it a shining example of the kind of sustainable urban niches we need more of. In addition, the eTree will come in two stylistic models: the Citrus, which is about 11 feet wide and will provide cold drinking water in schools and parks and a more advanced model, the Acacia, about 15 feet wide, which will function as a small power station to provide 7 kilowatts of power a day.

The first eTree will be debuted in Zichron Yaakov’s HaNadiv Gardens, but the company has plans to install eTrees in cities in China and France. Sologic chairman Michael Lasry stated that he was proud of the fact that eTree is green in all sense of the word, in that it is radiation-free and doesn’t pose any danger of electrocution or other safety hazards.