Photo: Six Flags Magic Mountain Six Flags Magic Mountain is putting its parking lots to work with a new 12.37-megawatt (MW) solar installation – California’s largest solar carport. It’s expected to generate enough electricity each year to offset the annual power use of both the amusement park and neighboring Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles. Six Flags says the installation in Valencia is one of the largest single-site commercial solar carport projects in the US. Developed with the solar panel company Solar Optimum, the project installs 22,908 RECOM bifacial solar panels across 36 carport structures. Bifacial panels collect sunlight from both sides, including light reflected from the ground. The canopies span roughly 637,000 square feet and shade about 4,315 parking spaces – 3,544 for guests and 771 for employees. For anyone returning to a car after a hot day at the park, that’s a pretty useful perk. Advertisement - scroll for more content There’s also EV charging: Six Flags says the installation includes 109 charging connectors across the guest and employee lots. A 2 MW/8 MWh battery system stores electricity for later use. At its rated 2 MW output, 8 MWh works out to about four hours of discharge. Six Flags expects the panels to generate around 20.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year. The parks are still connected to the utility Southern California Edison. They can draw grid power when onsite generation falls short and export surplus electricity when onsite demand and available battery storage are covered. Ultimately, the plan is to offset 100% of annual electricity consumption. Construction officially broke ground on November 1, 2023, with Solar Optimum and DSD Renewables. Magic Mountain follows earlier solar installations at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Northern California and Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. Here, the solar panels occupy space already used for parking, so the same land can accommodate cars, provide shade, and generate electricity. If you’ve ever considered going solar, make it easy by finding a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing by checking out EnergySage. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online, and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here. Stay up to date with the latest content by subscribing to Electrek on Google News. You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.
Liked by Jacob Côté, Henry Walker
Liked by Jacob Côté, Henry Walker
Liked by Jacob Côté, Henry Walker