The proposed wall along the border of the U.S. and Mexico is planned to be equipped with solar panels to pay for itself by generating electricity, U.S. President Donald Trump said late Wednesday.
“We’re thinking about building the wall as a solar wall, so it creates energy, and pays for itself,' Trump said during a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
'And this way Mexico will have to pay much less money, and that’s good. Is that good?' he added.
Since his campaign, Trump promised to build a wall on the 1,988 mile-long (3,200 kilometers) U.S.-Mexican border, and insisted that Mexico should pay for it.
“We’re thinking of something that’s unique, we’re talking about the southern border. Lots of sun, lots of heat,” Trump said on Wednesday.
He had also said the cost of the wall is estimated to be around $8-$12 billion. However, the cost could reach somewhere between $15-$25 billion, according to a report by non-profit organization Migration Policy Institute.
Trump's budget proposal for the fiscal year 2018 plans to have $1.6 billion for the first section of the wall.
The President did not provide any details about how much installed capacity is planned for the border wall, nor when its construction would begin.
After Trump's announcement, solar energy companies saw their shares increase on Thursday.
SunPower's stock price jumped 14 percent, while Jinko Solar's shares rose more than 5 percent, and Canadian Solar's stock price added almost 10 percent.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New York
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr