MNN - Mother Nature Network

Back in May 2011, after relocating his production company to the MBS Media Campus, James Cameron announced that he would personally fund the construction of a massive solar array to power the next to "Avatar" sequels. 

 

“These are things the studios need to be thinking about,” Cameron told the Washington Post. “When I do my next film, we’re going to go much farther than we did in terms of running a green set.

 

Late last month, Stellar Energy announced that they had completed work on Cameron's vision - successfully installing 3,692 solar modules to the rooftops of the director's production studios. 

 

“The Avatar sequels are a great opportunity to show how we, as a production company, can make clean green solar energy as we go. Going into Avatar 2 and 3, we are going to be able produce enough solar energy to handle the entire electrical demand for our computers and performance capture systems here at MBS Media Campus,” said Cameron. “We have to do this for the future, for our children, and as a moral responsibility to the planet.”

 

 

In total, the three arrays will provide some 960 kW of power, something Cameron says will help fulfill his goal of a net zero production for both sequels. 

 

Beyond the green themes present in both production and the films' plot lines, the 58-year-old director also has big plans to use some of the box office proceeds to benefit environmental organizations. 

 

"Some percentage of the presumably-massive 'Avatar' sequel gross will go to charity," he revealed last year. "Fox has partnered with me to donate a chunk of the profits to environmental causes that are at the heart of the 'Avatar' world."

 

"Avatar" 2 and 3 are expected to hit theaters sometime between 2015 and 2016. Check out a video of Cameron and his producing partner Jon Landau talking about the solar installation below.