One such community is Tocco Da Casauria, where selling excess renewable energy has meant the town has no local taxes and charges no fees for services like garbage removal, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

In the town of 2,700 people in Italy's poor mountainous center, wind turbines sprout from its olive groves while solar panels generate electricity at its cemetery and sports complex as well as at a growing number of private residences, the newspaper said.

"Normally when you think about energy you think about big plants, but here what's interesting is that local municipalities have been very active," Edoardo Zanchini of the environmental group Legambiente said. "That this can happen in a place like Italy is really impressive."

Like many towns, Tocco was motivated to become an early adopter of renewable energy because Italy has some of the highest electricity rates in Europe, nearly three times the average in the United States.

Tocco is now generating 30 percent more electricity than it uses. Production of green electricity earned the town more than $200,000 last year.

earlier related report
Student builds solar-power motorcycle
West Lafayette, Ind. (UPI) Sep 29, 2010 - A Purdue University student has created a street-legal solar powered motorcycle he says can carry a commuter for a penny a mile.

Physics major Tony Danger Coiro spent $2,500 redesigning and retrofitting the 1978 Suzuki bought for $50 to create the vehicle that has a top speed of 45 mph, a university release said Wednesday.

"The riding experience is surreal," Coiro said. "I get instant, silent, constant acceleration that outpaces urban traffic. It's like riding a magic carpet."

The lead acid batteries that get power from the bike's solar cells can also be charged by plugging into household current.

Coiro, along with two other solar-power vehicle enthusiasts, has started the Purdue Electric Vehicles Club to help like-minded students expand environmentally friendly transportation options.

"Purdue Electric Vehicles will encourage enthusiasm for, and knowledge and development of, electric vehicles by students and the community," Coiro said.

Coiro is already designing a 100-horsepower motorcycle that will travel up to 100 miles per charge, top 100 mph and draw even more of its energy from the sun, he said.

"I've learned a lot building this first bike, and now I'm ready to make a game-changer," Coiro said.

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