If you’re strolling through New York City’s Times Square during the evening, you might see a giant billboard blacked-out amid thousands of other illuminated signs.

That’s okay with Ricoh Americas Corporation, which recently installed the first fully solar-powered electronic billboard ever erected in Times Square. Installed at the corner of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street, the 35,000-pound billboard incorporates 62 solar panels and 24 thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules, which power 16 3oo-watt LED floodlights. The company says it will allow the billboard to go dark when there is not enough sunlight. The other option, of course, would be to connect the billboard to grid-sourced electricity in times of low sun.

“Most billboards deliver a message, but this billboard is itself the message,” said Jason Dizzine, Director of Corporate Communications at Ricoh Americas Corporation. ”For Ricoh, if the sign goes dark, that is okay. What is more important is that Ricoh is sharing in the bettering of our planet for everyone.”

In order to make the “eco board” a reality, Ricoh called on three different manufacturing companies to assist with their own technology.

REC Solar contributed its solar modules for dim-lighting conditions. The thin-film PV solar modules came from Xunlight. And the Cooley Group made the flexible substrates for the board.

Ricoh joins Coca-Cola, the only other company with a renewable-energy-powered billboard in Times Square. In 2008, the beverage company began using wind power to generate electricity for its Times Square board.

The board is part of Ricoh’s 2009 commitment to reduce its own CO2 emissions by 30 percent by fiscal year 2020 and 87.5 percent by fiscal year 2050. Ricoh estimates the eco board will prevent 18 tons of carbon from entering the air annually and save $12,000 to $15,000 a month.