Six Flags Magic Mountain in California is building a massive canopy of solar panels over its 30-acre parking lot that will power all of the rides and offset 100% of the amusement park’s energy usage while providing shade to the cars parked beneath.

When completed, it will be California’s largest solar energy project & the world’s largest renewable energy site built by a for-profit organization.

Way to go, Six Flags!

https://www.dailynews.com/2023/06/20/solar-powered-roller-coasters-coming-to-six-flags-magic-mountain/

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#Solar #SolarPunk #energy #RenewableEnergy

Solar-powered roller coasters coming to Six Flags Magic Mountain

Construction is set to start later this summer on the solar carport and energy storage system project at the Valencia amusement park.

Daily News
@erinwhalen really good idea, but the amount of cars should also be reduced
@mo - yes, for sure. I'd much prefer parks to parking lots, but if we have to have them, may as well make them do double duty. ✌️
@erinwhalen definitely. They are already there. So give them a new meaning
@erinwhalen Ok, now THIS is a perfect story! It has two of my favorite things . . . Rollercoasters and solar panels!
@Tergenev - ha! Right? Throw in some uppity orcas and you have the perfect trifecta. 😁🐋

@erinwhalen

*AND* people's vehicles will require less energy when the occupants return and try to cool them.

@Frances_Larina @erinwhalen yeah I think about this everytime I park in a parking garage over street parking. We also have the solar panel set up at my grocery store.
@erinwhalen why isn't there solar over every damned parking lot tho
@darwinwoodka - I agree, there should be!

@darwinwoodka @erinwhalen you will only find solar over established parking lots (e.g. city owned, hospital, college) because of money.

Many flat (non structure) parking lot owners are waiting to sell the property to a developer. They don't have money.

They don't have the intent to keep using the property as a parking lot for 10+ years to allow the install to pay for itself.

These places don't invest in electric charging for the same reasons.

@trouble @darwinwoodka - that's a great point. Thanks for sharing it!
@erinwhalen Six Flags Magic Mountain was my fave amusement park when I was a teenager

@erinwhalen this makes total sense even at the absurdly low electricity cost in the USA:

After all, they basically only need power during the day and they already have that massive parking lot, so might just use that and propably even ROI the cost with saved elecrticity bills if not selling surplus production into the grid.

@kkarhan @erinwhalen oh that's a good point about businesses like this one only needing energy during the day. An even better fit than residential use.

@erinwhalen Very cool! Disneyland Paris also recently built a 50 acre one I believe https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/04/22/first-milestone-for-solar-carport-at-disneyland-in-paris/

Sounds like this is something that should become the default :)

First milestone for solar carport at Disneyland Paris

A third of the 17 MW solar array is now completed. The installation is expected to cover around 17% of the theme park’s electricity needs. Final completion is scheduled for 2023.

pv magazine International

@erinwhalen The article says "more [solar] than any other US organization"...

I would check that fact, daily news...

#DisneyWorld produces the larges amount of #solar in the US. They're also getting ready to finish TWO MORE 75MW arrays in Polk and Gilchrest counties this year - adding to their already huge solar footprint of ~150MW.

#DailyNews states #SixFlags will have 20.8MW annually with their install. Nowhere near #Disney's!

@jann - thanks for pointing that out! I was curious to learn more and found this link about the Disney World solar installations: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2022/04/disney-doubles-ways-to-power-the-magic-with-two-new-solar-arrays/

If the amusement parks of the world are trying to outcompete each other with the size of their solar installations, I call that a win. 😁✌️

Disney Doubles Ways to Power the Magic with Two New Solar Arrays

Picture what’s possible when 40 percent of the energy supplied to The Most Magical Place on Earth is generated by the sun. Building on today’s exciting launch of Disney Planet Possible and just in time to celebrate Earth Month, Walt Disney

Disney Parks Blog
@erinwhalen
How totally weird! The utter degeneracy of 'progress'.
@erinwhalen Walmart needs to replicate.

@erinwhalen Great news, and a win all around for Magic Mountain energy needs, a cleaner Earth, and drivers who can return to cars which are a bit cooler.

If we gotta concrete over large swaths of land to park cars, there may as well get some green energy out of the proposition.

Solar covers seems like a no-brainer for parking lots, at least in sunny places.

@erinwhalen solar panels over parking lots in sunny areas is such a no-brainer - even without the panels people can use the shade
@erinwhalen It certainly took long enough for someone to try it. Airports have been doing this for years...

@erinwhalen

The posts supporting this are appalling, i guess it goes some way to explaining why we collapse civilisation, when nonsesense like this is supported.

This is like celebrating an Airport declaring itself "carbon neutral" because it slapped up a few solar panels.

We have a decade to reduce our emissions to near zero or face rhe very real threat of collapsing civilsiation and we expend our miniscule sliver of emissions building rubbish like that helps accelerate the destruction while the planet burns and floods around us?

No one should be driving at all, let alone to do things that are not life saving or necessary. Do people not read the endless News about CO2 emsisions ? We need a 10% reduction in emissions every year, thats way more then happens under Covid, every year for a decade at least.

I guess I can use this as a case study of a green washed monstrosity and why everything gets worse.