At Safeco Field in Seattle, the Mariners are looking to score a hit against their carbon emissions with a solar power array consisting of (appropriately named) Panasonic HIT Double solar panels. The company’s HIT (which stands for heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer) panels are hybrid solar cells composed of single crystalline silicon wafers surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers, a proprietary technology originally developed by Sanyo, which the park will use to generate approximately 40,000-kilowatt hours of power each year.
The installation consists of 168 panels, unique because they absorb and generate electricity from both their top and bottom sides, is expected to be ready to come online in short order, in time for Opening Day on April 13. This power will feed into the Safeco Field distribution grid, and fans will be able to track the amount of power generated on monitors inside the ballpark.
image via MLBlogs Network
The project is part of the Mariners’ overall sustainability initiative, which includes electric vehicle charging stations, high-efficiency lighting and various other eco-friendly measures. InSpec Group, the contractor on the project, has designed the solar panel system to be mounted on the elevator canopy of the Safeco Field parking garage and the roof of the skybridge that spans Edgar Martinez Drive.
“The Mariners have a commitment to sustainability and our system will help them achieve their goals by using a natural power source, the sun, to reduce Safeco Field’s energy costs,” Panasonic’s Jim Doyle said in a statement.
[source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Earthtechling/~3/RghtdXWN-Zs/]
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