The 10m tall structure is made up of a central face surrounded by 14 'petals' which are covered with solar panels. Cameron worked with solar company, Sonnen, to develop a tracking system that uses astronomical data to calculate the Sun's position throughout the day and align the Solar Sun Flower's face accordingly.
The first flowers were installed on the Malibu campus of the MUSE school, a not-for-profit institution that encourages environmental learning and sustainability, and was co-founded by Cameron's wife, Suzy Amis Cameron.
Five Solar Sun Flowers generate around 260kWh per day, which is said to meet roughly 75 to 90% of the school's energy demands. But in the height of summer, Cameron predicts this could reach 100%.
While Cameron is patenting his design to make sure no one else tries to claim ownership, he's also going to be making all the designs and plans open-source, so they can be replicated.
