iStockphoto/Thinkstock
DCL
Every car on Coney Island's famous Wonder Wheel used to be lit up—until the family that currently operates the ride took over in the 1980s and removed them because the high voltage placed literally right next to where people sat just wasn't safe.
This year, they're lighting the cars back up, but with solar panels: 32 panels will produce 960 watts of electricity, and a battery will store energy to sustain the lights through cloudy days (and nighttime).
"I really only need a sunny day every other day or every third day to run the lights," said Deno Vourderis, the man behind the eco-friendly move.
If the transition goes well this year, he hopes to bring in more panels next year and turn the Wonder Wheel into a fully solar-powered ride. He's excited about going green—and he's excited that the lights are coming back to the ride at all. He told the Daily News, "It brings back the old look - the look that people knew the Wonder Wheel for."
