Burger King tests energy generation from cars
A company called New Energy Technologies, Inc. said this month that it will begin testing a prototype for generating electricity from cars and light trucks driving through the parking lot of a Burger King in New Jersey.
The company said its engineers built something called MotionPower, and if it works, eventually the power generator could make electricity from cars driving through all kinds of busy intersections, toll booths and parking lots. (If you'd like to see how it works, check out the video after the jump.)
The technology captures kenetic energy in a similar way that hybrid cars do, according to the company. And with some 250 million cars on the road every day, that's a lot of opportunity to make energy -- enough to light a half million homes.
The Burger King in Hillside, N.J., with 150,000 cars visiting a year, will be the first guinea pig.
The company is also developing something called SolarWindow that is a coating on glass surfaces that act like the world's smallest solar panels.
Of course, allowing people to generate energy while driving to the local fast food restaurant won't do much for the obesity epidemic.
Comments
Hmm, it is strange that so many fast food restaurants are taking the lead in implementing some of the most cutting edge, obscure green technologies. Strange especially because these restaurants are serving foods that are the products of industrialized agriculture and factory farming, two of the most unsustainable industries on earth. This seems like a classic example of greenwashing - making little changes to put on a "green" facade and assuage customer concerns. I hope Burger King and its competitors will start making real strides toward Valuing [the] Meal by using their incredible monetary influence to change the agriculture and meat industries. Do you agree? Check out the Value the Meal Campaign
Posted by: Sarah | July 17, 2009 12:11 PM