Another energy conservation initiative announced recently for Rockefeller Centre is a solar energy roof, which will be the largest privately owned solar energy generation station in Manhattan. It will conserve energy during peak usage times year-round and help power the iconic Christmas tree’s 30,000 multi-coloured light-emitting diodes (LEDs) strung on five miles of wire.

The Mayor of New York City, Michael R Bloomberg, and Tishman Speyer, (one of the leading owners, developers and fund managers of first-class real estate in the world, with headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza, New York), announced the installation of a green roof atop Radio City Music Hall that will minimise waste water and cool the area, and an ice chiller plant to cool the entire complex and reduce energy consumption. Both will be completed in 2008. The chiller plant’s energy conservation represents the equivalent of taking more than 300 cars off America’s roads each year or planting 450 acres of trees.

“The tree at Rockefeller Centre is one of New York City’s most beloved and iconic landmarks, and with the environmental steps that Tishman Speyer has implemented this year, the 500,000 New Yorkers and tourists that visit the tree each day can dream of a ‘green’ Christmas,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

Tishman Speyer has installed 365 solar panels on the roof of 45 Rockefeller Plaza to help reduce the building’s electricity consumption. The panels, designed by the company AltPower, will create a 70-kilowatt DC generation station that is tied to the Rockefeller Centre grid. The solar energy produced will help reduce peak electrical demand, especially during the summer months when electricity use increases. The solar roof will keep nearly 67,400 lb of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year, and more than 2,000,000 lb over its 30-year lifespan.

After the official Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Centre on November 28, the tree is being illuminated from early morning to late night most days until the first week of January.
The Christmas tree tradition was started in 1931, when construction workers building the first part of the office complex at Rockefeller Centre erected a 20-foot (6 metres) balsam fir amid the sites mud and rubble.

Norway’s gift to London

Across the Atlantic, the traditional Christmas tree in London’s Trafalgar Square, a gift from the people of Norway, will be decorated with 500 individual white lights. The tree, lit on December 6, will be turned on from noon until midnight, daily until January 4.

Trafalgar Square, a popular tourist spot in London, has been presented with a large Norwegian Christmas tree each winter for over 60 years, as a token of friendship and gratitude for Britain’s assistance during World War II. The tree, decorated in typical Norwegian style, is usually 20 to 25 metres (65-82 feet) tall Carol singing takes place daily for a fortnight until December 23.