Yosemite National Park will install a 539 kW photovoltaic generation system with $4.4 million received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Once built, this project will be the largest grid-connected photovoltaic system in the National Park System, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Upon completion of the project, the park will double the electricity produced through renewable energy for the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service, which consists of 58 sites.
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The rooftop and shade structure-mounted solar panels, to be installed beginning this summer at the El Portal Maintenance Complex, are expected to generate approximately 800,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. This will result in almost a 12% savings on electricity purchased off the grid.
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The project is a design-build contract and was awarded to Paragon Industrial Applications of Atascadero, Calif.
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SOURCE: U.S. National Park Service
