San Francisco Giants And PG&E Bring Solar Power To AT&T Park
The First MLB Ballpark to Install a Solar System will Generate Green Energy for PG&E Customers in the City and County of San Francisco
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, press release March 21, 2007
http://www.pge.com/news/news_releases/q1_2007/070321.html
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants and Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced a joint partnership to install a solar system at AT&T Park. AT&T Park, the first ballpark in Major League Baseball (MLB) to install a solar system, will provide up to 120 kilowatts of green energy for PG&E customers in the City and County of San Francisco. “We are thrilled to partner with PG&E to bring green power to San Francisco,” said Peter Magowan, Giants president and managing general partner. “Through this partnership, we hope to raise awareness about the importance of using energy wisely and efficiently and about the need to develop and utilize renewable energy sources.”
PG&E will install up to 590 Sharp solar panels in three areas of AT&T Park- on the Port Walk along McCovey Cove, on a newly erected canopy over the Willie Mays pedestrian ramp, and on the roof of the Giants Building. PG&E will connect the 120 kilowatts of power generated from the solar panels into San Francisco’s power grid to help the city achieve its goal to become the greenest city in the nation. One hundred kilowatts of solar energy is enough to power the Giants’ new state-of-the-art Diamond Vision scoreboard for the baseball season.
“Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and protecting our environment requires bold leadership and vision,” said Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco. “We applaud the Giants and PG&E for their commitment to solar energy and for their long-term focus on helping to make San Francisco the greenest city in the nation.”
“The San Francisco Giants have a long history of community leadership and today they are at the forefront of an issue that is dear to all of us – protecting the environment,” said Tom King, CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company. “PG&E is committed to helping the Giants, the City and County of San Francisco, and all of the communities we serve to increase power generated from solar energy. Through innovative renewable solutions like the AT&T Park solar system, we will continue to provide our customers with among the cleanest energy in the nation.”
Since its inception, the Giants have made energy conservation a priority in AT&T Park’s design and daily operations. The Park was designed to be an energy efficient facility — utilizing fluorescent lighting, motion sensor lighting and energy management systems. The Giants and PG&E are also working together to identify other ways to create energy-saving opportunities. For example, the new Diamond Vision scoreboard will use 78% less energy than the ballpark’s original scoreboard. Additionally, PG&E and the Giants will launch a five-year public awareness campaign to educate and encourage Giants fans to use energy responsibly.
The solar installation at AT&T Park is the latest addition to PG&E’s renewable energy portfolio. PG&E currently supplies 12 percent of its energy from qualifying renewable sources under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) – one of the highest volumes of any utility in the United States. Renewables sources in PG&E’s portfolio include solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and small hydroelectric. In addition, more than 50 percent of the electricity that PG&E delivers to its customers comes from generating resources that emit no or low carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming.
PG&E has also committed to spending more than $7.5 million on solar installations throughout the city, including its own service center. In January, the company helped the San Francisco LGBT Center install a 96-panel solar system. PG&E has interconnected almost 15,000 customer-owned solar-generating systems to the power grid – representing more than 110 megawatts and more than any other utility in the nation. In San Francisco, PG&E has helped interconnect almost 500 of these solar systems. For more information on PG&E’s environmental efforts, please visit www.pge.com/environment.