Posted
From the press release:
Six Flags Magic Mountain, the undisputed Thrill Capital of the World, in partnership with Solar Optimum and DSD Renewables (DSD), today announced the official ground breaking of a new 12.37-megawatt solar carport and energy storage system. The Six Flags Magic Mountain project is the largest single-site commercial renewable energy project in California and largest solar project allocated toward a for-profit organization in the United States.
“We’re thrilled to be breaking ground on this monumental project and taking the next step towards a cleaner, greener future,” said Six Flags Magic Mountain Interim Park President Jeff Harris. “We’re continuing to make advancements towards improving and protecting the environment, and are honored to be industry leaders, paving the way for other theme park companies around the world. Our partners and established solar and renewable energy industry experts at Solar Optimum and DSD Renewables, as well as our partners with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s Office, have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition, allowing us to break ground at an increased timeline. Getting a glance at what this massive structure will bring to our parks and community is simply remarkable,” he added.
Key components of the Six Flags Magic Mountain solar installation include:
- A 637,000 square foot, 12.37-megawatt solar carport built over the main guest parking lot and team member parking lot;
- The park will be able to offset 100% of its energy usage with solar power;
- Estimated 3,544 guest parking spaces and 771 team member parking spaces;
- Approximately 30 electric vehicle charging spaces in the guest parking lot;
- Added shade coverage to keep cars cool for guests and team members;
- Increased security systems and protection;
- Battery storage system producing approximately 2 megawatts of power with up to 8-megawatt hours of capacity that can be deployed daily;
- Produce 20.8 million kilowatt hours of energy annually, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2,874 homes;
- Offset greenhouse gas emissions each year comparable to 34,194 barrels of oil consumed, 5,110 tons of waste recycled rather than landfilled, and 17,612 acres of U.S. forests;
- Offset carbon dioxide equivalents each year comparable to taking 3,182 cars off the road, 37.8 million miles driven by an average gasoline-powered automobile, and 1.6 million gallons of gasoline consumed; and
- Produce 517.89 million kilowatt hours of energy in a 25-year period, which offsets greenhouse gas energy consumption equivalent to 911 million miles driven by gasoline-powered automobiles and the carbon sequestration equivalent to 434.3 thousand acres of trees planted.
The Six Flags Magic Mountain project is the third solar installation for Six Flags. Properties in Northern California at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and New Jersey at Six Flags Great Adventure have also developed on-site solar capabilities with over 30 megawatts of fully operational solar power systems installed. These three sites will rank as the largest volume of onsite Solar PV systems for any U.S. organization with a combined total of 42.37 megawatts.