In 2012, London had the plans to reconstruct the Blackfriars Bridge and add solar panels to the roof of the bridge. As stated in an article, “The Blackfriars station was revamped as part of the Thameslink program and opened in 2012.” The solar powered bridge opened on 22nd of January 2014. Today the bridge is a standing strong and in good working condition. “ As it reports, it is the largest solar bridge in the world. Approximately it has 4,400 photovoltaic panels constructed to the roof of the bridge and even now it can generate half of the railway stations own energy needs. That is at least 50% of energy that the panels supply to power the railway station. The only downside is on a grey day, it can only produce about 10% of the energy need, but that can be over-looked because of what the station gains with the use of these PV panels. This project is expected to reduce 500 tons of carbon emissions per year that the railway was producing. This makes the new reconstructed bridge a lot more environmentally friendly and pollutes less air emissions which is extremely beneficial for the environment and health. As stated in an article, the managing director of the project, David Statham, said the following: "The distinctive roof has also turned our station into an iconic landmark visible for miles along the River Thames." Even though this was an expensive project at first, eventually in the long run, the solar panels will pay for itself and save a lot of money for future reference. There are hopes that this project will inspire a lot of large infrastructure developers to embrace renewable energy and experience the benefits that comes with it. Reference: BBC. 2014. Solar bridge unveiled at Blackfriars station. Viewed on 21 June 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-25843677.
