Greening Hollywood:
Solar Taxi Makes Pit Stop at Bbq in The 'Bu

"On 3 July 2007 I set off on my first journey around the world with a solar powered vehicle. The solar taxi should show that every single one of us can take a step towards preserving our planet." Louis Palmer, SolarTaxi Instigator.  The bbq in the 'Bu was held out in the Malibu Colony after the SolarTaxi spent the day making friends and fans at the Malibu Arts Festival. Locals attending included Brian Grazer, James Cameron, Larry Hagman, and wife of Universal Studios President, Kelly Meyer.  Larry is a big believer in solar power. "Before I installed solar panels on my roof in 2005, my electricity bill was $37,000. The next year, 2006, my entire electric bill was $13.00. I went off-grid," Hagman told Greening Hollywood at the bbq in Malibu Colony.

How It Works:

The solar cells that trail the vehicle on the flatbed behind the car produce enough electricity to travel up to 100 km a day.  When they need to drive more than 100 km a day, they charge their ZEBRA battery with additional solar power. Their solar power plant lives on a rooftop in Berne, Switzerland. The electricity created by these rooftop solar panels in Berne is fed into the grid, offsetting electricity generated by using fossil fuels. "It's like paying money into a bank account and withdrawing the money somewhere else: We feed solar electricity into the grid and charge it into our battery anywhere in the world, from the grid. If all cars in the world were powered this way, cars wouldn't cause global warming!" says Louis Palmer. The Solartaxi proves it's possible to drive 15,000 km a year powered by 9 square yards of solar cells on a rooftop.

Technology:

The Solartaxi is a lightweight vehicle, about the size of a SmartCar.

* Ecology: Zero CO2 emission!
* A new energy solution provides independence: 6m2 solar cells on a rooftop yield power for 15,000 km per year!
* Freedom: To drive up to 400 km with the latest ZEBRA battery technology.
* Max. speed: 90 km/h
* Light weight: 500 kg (+ 250 kg for thailer)
* Energy efficient: Consumption of 8 kWh/100 km (equivalent of 0.8 l petrol / 100 km)

Living With Ed: Season 1

Chronicles one of the greenest actors in Hollywood, Ed Begley Jr., who drives his electric car to the Academy Awards, stops his wife from over-using the blow dryer and lives in a completely solar-powered home.  Though Larry is in the second season, we thought our LarryHagman.com Green visitors might enjoy this DVD release.  It will be released on April 8, 2008 from Good Times Video.  Watch for the second season,which includes Larry's episode, to be released in Sept. 2008. Larry was a guest on Living With Ed, during the first season, in which Ed and his wife Rachelle toured Larry's solar-powered home.  It aired on the HGTV network on Monday, Sept. 10, 2007 at 10:30 PM EST, with a repeat broadcast on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 2:30 AM.

National Biodiesel and Renewable Energies 
Conference in San Antonio
Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center
February 4th -7th, 2007

Larry was the honored guest and speaker at the conference where he participated with the SHIFT Media program. A video presentation of his own solar array for powering his Ojai home by using the sun’s energy was shown. Larry also presented a “Special Session” at the conference titled, "Larry Hagman on Solar Energy".