Five million kroner (615,000 euro, $849,000) was raised for the project—four million from sponsors—and now three 17-square-metre (183-square-feet) mirrors tower over the north side of Rjukan village, AFP reports.
A computer will control the mirrors so that they follow the sun to reflect the light on the market square, lighting up a 600-square-metre (6,459-square-feet) elliptical area.
"The idea was a little crazy, but madness is our middle name," said Oeystein Haugan, a local project coordinator.
The village was founded near a hydroelectric plant 100 years ago. The Norwegian industrialist Sam Eyde, its founder had first suggested that mirrors may be used. But he ran short of funds.
Instead he built a cable car, which is still in use, to allow his employees to recharge their vitamin D levels with sunlight on a mountain top, AFP reports.
An artist Martin Andersen, who arrived in the village from Paris, picked up the idea around ten years ago.
"The further we got into winter, the further we had to drive out of the valley to enjoy sunlight. So I asked myself: why not move the sunrays instead of moving ourselves?" he explained.
The idea was challenged by other residents who questioned the appropriateness of investing public money in the project instead of in nurseries and schools. The inauguration is scheduled for sometime next week, depending on weather conditions.
Besides getting more cheerful citizens, local authorities hope to capitalize on the extensive media coverage of the feat to bring in more tourists.
"We have already recovered our investment dozens of times over. Maybe not in cold, hard cash for the local council but in publicity and marketing value," administrative head of the municipality Rune Loedoeen said, according to AFP.
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