Pedal Power!

Even before we took our honeymoon trip to Peru, my husband was reading the Peruvian times to get a sense of what things are going on there. he found a very interesting article the other day - bicycle powered streetlights in Lima! It really is a perfect idea, free stationary bikes for folks who don't like being inside a gym and the power stores in batteries to run the streetlights at night!

Pedal power: Lima parks to be illuminated with stationary bike-produced energy

Environment - Posted on July, 17 at 12:34 am

Lima’s district of San Borja has launched a “pedal-a-watt” program, which aims to power street and park lights with ecological and renewable energy produced by stationary bicycles capable of creating electricity from human effort.

“The idea is to start lighting up our parks with renewable energy, as well as taking advantage of the fact that San Borja has a sports and parks circuit,” the Manager of San Borja’s Environmental Office, Hernán García, told official state news agency Andina.

The specially adapted bicycles to be installed in San Borja’s parks will keep users aerobically fit, while creating power stored in a battery and then tapped after dark, to power street and park lights.

“We afford to lag behind,” added García. “They are already using this type of technology in European parks. Our aim is to teach people that renewable energy is beneficial.”