New solar panels installed at Presque Isle Beach 8. How much money will they save? - AOL
Presque Isle installs solar panels at Beach 8 lot
New solar panels installed at Presque Isle Beach 8. How much money will they save?
Dana Massing
Visitors to Presque Isle State Park's Beach 8 will find more parking spots in the shade this summer thanks to a project to capture energy from the sun.
Solar panels were installed in the Beach 8 parking lot with room for vehicles to park below.
Presque Isle and state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officials announced in September 2021 that the solar panels would help the park reach net-zero energy consumption, save DCNR $30,000 on electricity annually, produce enough energy to power 25 average American homes and reduce the park's carbon footprint to the equivalent of removing 20 passenger cars from the road annually.
The solar project is part of a climate and sustainability plan for Presque Isle.
From 2021: Solar panels at Beach 8 will help take Presque Isle State Park to net-zero energy usage
Park Operations Manager Matt Greene previously said there would be parking spaces for at least 20 cars under each of five solar arrays. They would be high enough to accommodate taller vehicles, such as RVs, he said.
In 2016, a solar array in front of the park's Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, began providing energy to help light that building.
Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.