Over the past year, the Yosemite National Park has been working on getting a 2,800 solar panel system installed in the park. The 8-by-12 foot panels are placed everywhere possible on top of the administrative complex. The workers at the park said watching the project come together has been fun and they really want people to not come to the park to see the natural habitats but to learn something. The panel system was completed in February but had to wait further inspection before being fired up at the end of June. The park is looking at saving over $50,000 a year in electricity costs and it cut back 12% of electricity they would have had to purchase. Funding for this National Park project came from the $754 million designated for the national park system in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. This project really reflects on how the park service wants to interact with the community and shows how much they care about the environment. This is a great idea for other larger national parks to look into for the future. We as Americans are going to have to look more and more towards the sun and wind for power as the years go on.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/01/2340077/yosemite-national-park-runs-on.html
I have always wondered how solar power works, but who cares if its saving energy and money. Not only should national parks do this but I have promised myslef I will own a solar powered home. Even though its relativly new, it doesnt make sense to use elcetrcity when you have this other option.
ReplyDeleteI went to Yosemite this past summer and i saw all the solar panels on top of their roofs. You could climb to the top of the mountains and look down and see the solar panels. There was also a sign posted there stating that Yosemite had just converted to solar energy and all you had to do was look down. I think the Yosemite is leading the way for national parks and maybe America in general for solar energy.
ReplyDeleteBy Yosemite switching to solar power shows a great appreciation for preserving the environment and as solar power becomes more and more used, “fracking” around the world will slowly decline. And with solar power, I believe if it’s there why not use it to its full advantages to protect the one and only Earth we have?
ReplyDelete