German City Pioneers Use of Solar Energy

By PAUL BURKHARDT, Associated Press Writer, Technology / Energy

German architect Rolf Disch stands on the rooftop of the Sonnenschiff, or Solar Ship, community center building in Freiburg, southern Germany, on May 18, 2007. The Sonnenschiff, designed by Disch, was constructed in 2004 and gains its power entirely from renewable energy. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel)

(AP) -- Rolf Disch has harnessed the sun in his city of Freiburg, starting with his own house. It looks like an upside-down Apollo spacecraft and serves as a testing ground for ideas dreamed up by the 63-year-old solar architect. The home slowly turns with the sun to charge a billboard-sized solar panel on the roof, and the waterless toilet emits an occasional malodorous whiff.

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