The “eco-friendly” billboard is the first of its kind in Times Square and the eastern United States, the second in the United States and the third in the world, said Ricoh Americas Corp. The billboard, for Ricoh Americas’ parent company Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo, will measure 47 feet (14 meters) high by 126 feet (38 meters) long. Its floodlights will be powered on site by 45 solar panels and four wind turbines. The result will reduce carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. The office automation equipment and electronics supplier already has an electronic sign in Osaka, Japan, that is 100 percent solar- and wind-powered.
