'Solar trees' on public surfaces in Stari Grad

By the end of this year, the Stari Grad Municipality will install so-called 'solar trees' on public surfaces, which will use solar energy to illuminate the surrounding area and also serve as solar chargers for mobile phones, tablets, and other devices.

The project "First Solar Tree of the Stari Grad Municipality" highlights the importance of using renewable energy sources. A total of two solar trees will be installed: one at Trg oslobođenja – Alija Izetbegović, and the other in the immediate vicinity of the Sarajevo City Hall.

„We are entering this project together with the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund, and together we will enable citizens, as well as numerous tourists, to use solar trees for the first time in Stari Grad to charge mobile phones, tablets, and laptops, as well as for free wifi on public surfaces. Additionally, we plan to create a free application through which we will encourage users to protect the environment and highlight the importance of using renewable energy sources,“ said the head of the Stari Grad Municipality, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić.

„We will try to complete everything by the end of the year and immediately start the procedure for selecting a supplier,“ he added.

From the municipal Sector for Local Development, which prepared the project, they explained that the solar tree, using solar energy, will serve to illuminate the immediate surrounding area and as a free hotspot in the old town core due to the WiFi installation as part of the solar tree configuration. An integral part of the tree is a bench that will serve for rest. The idea is for the solar tree to become a gathering point for young people with "practical use" and education about renewable energy sources.

„The project composition consists of a receiver and a bench. The receiver, designed in the shape of a tree, is covered with solar panels and converts solar energy into electricity,“ they explained in the Sector. They will also create an application that will be free and available to all users of smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system.

„The application will be created in the form of a picture book with animated content aimed at raising young people's awareness of environmental issues and the importance of using energy from renewable sources, and it will be in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and English,“ they announced in the Sector.

The project "First Solar Tree of the Stari Grad Municipality" is financed by the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund and the Stari Grad Municipality. The project value is around 30,000 KM, for which the Fund will provide 20,000 KM, and the Stari Grad Municipality 10,000 KM.