Almance Technology sells the Solar Cat Eye System, which generates electrical power from solar cells built into the bright reflective lenses embedded in the sur- face of roadways to mark the travel lanes. (These lenses are referred to as cat eyes because they reflect headlights brightly at night, allowing the driver to see the bor- ders of a lane when it is too dark to see painted stripes clearly.) When the Solar Cat Eye System is installed in the surface of a road, it allows the owner of the road to generate power that can charge batteries for nearby road signs, emergency phones, or signal lights, saving the cost of the electricity that would otherwise have to be purchased to operate these systems. A solar cat eye installation costs $100,000 to set up the operating system, plus $2,000 per mile of solar cat eyes installed directly into the road. Each mile of solar cat eyes creates the equivalent of $200 a year in revenue through its electrical generation, with no variable cost of generation.

a. Maricopa County is considering purchasing a solar cat eye installation for 100 miles of road it will repave this summer. How much would this system cost?

b. If Maricopa County does purchase the Solar Cat Eye System for its summer repav- ing project, how many years of electrical generation must it provide before it breaks even?

c. Some officials in Maricopa County have argued that this summer's repaving project is too small to support a technology upgrade such as the Solar Cat Eye System. However, the state highway department might be convinced to share the $100,000 fixed cost with Maricopa County if it can share the same operating system. It will then purchase solar cat eyes and install them in a nearby state highway. If the two organizations can reach an agreement to share the fixed cost equally, how will this change Maricopa County's break-even point?