Parking Lot Solar Panels?

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

This has sorta been on my mind for a while and I think this is a good discussion to have. In recent years, we have seen a few parks including a few legacy Six Flags parks convert their parking lots into giant solar farms. With the recent merger between Six Flags and Cedar Fair and the priority to cut down on certain extra costs, is it possible we could see these solar parking lots make their way to legacy Cedar Fair parks including Kings Island? It wouldn't really be a foreign concept here in the Cincy area as the Cincinnati Zoo has had parking lot solar panels for well over a decade now and it seems to work out great there. Obviously the cost to construct something like this in the KI parking lot would be pretty high. However, long term if it can cut down on energy costs, I think it would be a win win. I want to hear your thoughts on this idea.

source for photo: https://www.sixflags.com/six-flags-magic-mountain-breaks-ground-on-californias-largest-solar-energy-project

[BeeastFarmer]

I have a solar array that provides all of the electricity needs on my farm. It's grid tied, meaning that it feeds into the grid and I get at 1:1 credit from them.  I also build up a bank of credits that gets applied in months such as this. I absolutely love my system.

It's my understanding that this is similar to what magic mountain and great adventure do .

They would need to cover the parking lot so that the panels face south. The parking lot, iirc, is about 40 acres?  That could produce quite a bit of electricity.  It would coast dearly to install.

[DiamondbackFan]

I doubt they would cover all 40 acres.  Six Flags Great America is only covering 15 acres of parking lot with their 6.4 megawatt project.

 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

10 hours ago, DiamondbackFan said:

I doubt they would cover all 40 acres.  Six Flags Great America is only covering 15 acres of parking lot with their 6.4 megawatt project.

 

I have the same thought. Covering the whole lot would cost a fortune If KI were to do it, it probably would mainly cover the preferred/handicap/employee parking areas. If we're lucky, maybe the spots down toward the sign as well.

[Orion-XL200]

If they can't pave the lot, fix the potholes and fix the traffic flow from the tolls, I doubt they'd be successful in doing this. 

[CoastersRZ]

And one of the benefits of these solar panels, is in the heat of the summer, it shades your car,  so your car isn`t as hot when you get out to it if you leave the park sometime in the afternoon.

I think some of these, like with the zoo, are partnerships with a company that installs these.  Not sure the financial arrangement, but there is significant savings.

See more information about the zoo`s solar array in this article on the zoo website: https://cincinnatizoo.org/new-solar-array-over-second-parking-lot-at-cincinnati-zoo-pumps-out-power-and-provides-shade-for-cars/

[BlondyRidesOn]

If done in sections over the span of a few years, the whole lot could be covered. It would help save a ton of money on energy. Any excess electricity produced can go back to the grid and I believe the park would get credits for the electricity, also helping the park monetarily. 

[BeeastFarmer]

1 hour ago, BlondyRidesOn said:

If done in sections over the span of a few years, the whole lot could be covered. It would help save a ton of money on energy. Any excess electricity produced can go back to the grid and I believe the park would get credits for the electricity, also helping the park monetarily. 

I could be wrong, but from installs like this, it's typically an agreement with the park to get some reduced electric, carbon credits and good PR.  A holding company typically develops these and then sells it to a utility provider. It makes sense when there is a main trunk line. Six Flags doesn't necessarily use the power generated, but they get credit back on their consumption. The utility company gets a mini power plant, so they look good to the shareholders. The holding company makes a pretty penny on the sale to the power company, plus they can sell the "energy shares" on the market so other companies can use the carbon credits.   Six Flags can also tout how clean they are becoming, while ignoring carbon waste in other places.  Customers can get covered parking and probably some EV chargers.

Around here, battles are going on between locals, development companies, and zoning boards. The development companies quietly buy thousands of acres of farmland for solar farms. Local government looses jobs and tax revenue. It's quite contentious.

I wish we could scale up and use industrial/commercial rooftops and parking lots. That would preserve farmland. But the money evidently is not there to make this feasible. 

[flightoffear1996]

California sees alot more sun than Ohio, plus SFMM is open all year around so they can problay reach the ROI alot quicker.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Solar panels in the parking lot would do some wonders for Kings Island. The benefits everyone have listed would be more than worth the trouble IMO. There are other good practices that would also improve the parking lot experience, so the park would not necessarily need to install solar structures across the entire lot.