Solar in the parks
Today I took a walk around Woodlawn Lake Park after an early morning meeting. It was great to get back out on the walking trail at Woodlawn Lake since it gives me an opportunity to do some thinking while walking. Sure enough, the brain started working while I was hiking around the 1+ mile trail that surrounds the lake. What I noticed while walking along the trail was the large amounts of land that really go unused in obscure places around the park. What I also noticed were a lot of lamps that I’m sure are lit throughout the night to provide safety and security. So why not leverage both components to create a sustainable solution?
Since San Antonio is working towards providing more environmental and sustainable solutions why couldn’t the city leverage some of the unused open spaces in a park like Woodlawn Lake and install solar panels to power the lights? Of course you don’t want to go overboard with the open spaces as they are used at key dates such as Easter and the Fourth of July but there are areas along the banks of Woodlawn Lake and on the fringes of the park that could be used for solar panels.
By using these areas for solar electric generation it would provide a sustainable source of energy for the lights in the park and maybe even more. It would also provide a great project for Mission Verde to demonstrate the effectiveness of solar energy generation. Using the parks as demonstration projects would also allow people training at Mission Verde the opportunity to learn solar installation from a hands on perspective. Panels could also be installed on the various buildings in the park including the main building and the gym. There may even be other areas of the park that could benefit from solar panel installation.
Having the solar panels on display at city parks would give people more of a chance to learn about solar energy and how it can be leveraged to help augment our energy needs. Of course you would have to fence off the panels to avoid vandalism but the fences wouldn’t hamper solar generation and would still allow people the opportunity to see the panels in action. It would also help offset the cost of energy consumption by the city for the parks.
Granted there are probably many things I haven’t thought about and would need to be explored but it could provide one catalyst for helping San Antonio become an alternative energy hub of research and development.
Update – 9/6/2010 – As I thought about this more I began to think about those parks in the city that have parking spaces beside them such as Travis Park, Milam Park, and Maverick Park. Since the city is thinking about ramping up for electric cars these could serve as great places for charging stations. Panels could be erected as shade for benches or on the gazebos as well as other locations in the park. The power could be stored and used for the charging stations as well as pulling from the grid. This could really start to provide benefit for the city and residents.
Because there isn’t any sun at night? Because batteries + panels would cost way more than buying electricity off the grid? Because solar panels are expensive and easily stolen? Solar water heating has much faster ROI. If you want to get all sustainable, think about using solar water heaters to extend the swimming season throughout the year for outdoor pools. This would provide a trifecta of wins – jobs for lifeguards, coaches, swim team orgs, entertainment and fitness for the public and sustainable energy use.
Regarding the panels, that’s why I mention the fences around the panels. There’s so much in the parks that can also be stolen that’s protected. Regarding the batteries and power, that’s part of the approach in finding ways to store and use energy generated during the day. If I took the approach you mention we’ll never really reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. We’re going to have to learn how to effectively store and reuse daytime energy for nighttime use. I do like the solar water heating idea though.