January 9th, 2009 · No Comments

By John DeFore
Green Right Now

It seems like a no-brainer that national parks, those monuments to America’s natural beauty, would be powered by renewable resources. But renewable-power installations aren’t free, and the park system isn’t the best-funded part of the U.S. government.

The Grand Canyon, at least, is now starting to get with the program. This spring, the visitor center at the Grand Canyon National Park will draw a healthy chunk of its energy from the sun.

Arizona utility APS announced this week that it is installing 84 photovoltaic panels on the roof of and on platforms surrounding the center, which sits near the canyon’s south rim and is the first stop for many visitors to the area. The installation, scheduled to become operational this March, will supply about 18 kilowatts, or nearly a third of the electricity used by the facility.

The project is funded by APS’s “Green Rates” program and the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Renewable Energy Standard. The site was chosen in part as an opportunity to educate the 4.5 million-plus people who visit the Grand Canyon annually, and exhibits inside the building will include a real-time monitor of how much power the solar cells are producing.

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