The LA Times has an article and video about Jay Leno’s newly-installed photovoltaic panels on the roof of his 17,000 square-foot garage.
“I like projects,” said Leno, who was futzing with the plumbing on a newly acquired 1907 White Steamer. The steam car is one of about 150 vehicles in his collection, which run the gamut from 100-year-old motorcycles and European coupes to 1960s muscle cars and high-performance exotics, such as a McLaren F1. “There are people who say, ‘Well, you should sell all your cars and ride your bicycle,’ ” Leno said, adopting a whiny voice to mimic his critics. “No. I’m not going to do that, but what else can I do?”
Leno drives a different vehicle each day, but he tries to minimize the environmental impact. He lives only eight miles from work. He recycles. And, in addition to the solar panels and a wind turbine on his roof, he’s implemented a number of other systems inside his garage that are designed to reduce toxic waste.
His parts cleaners are eco-friendly — one uses microbes to eat away grease and grime, the other employs ultrasonic cleaning bubbles. Instead of a gas-operated plasma cutter to saw parts out of sheet metal, a water jet does the job using sand. And refillable canisters of brake and carburetor cleaners take the place of throwaway aerosol cans.
