October 27th, 2007 
billy 
It’s fall again; at least, here in the Midwestern United States, it is. With the World Series in full swing, and, given the recent influx of “Green News”, I’m pleased to bring you a little “Green News” about some enviro-tech that is causing it’s own little stir in the midst of the Sox-Rockies playoff. Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies, is the first of all 30 Major League Baseball parks to have installed and use solar systems to power their scoreboard; thanks to Independent Power Systems, SunPower, and Xcel Energy. Independent Power Systems, the chief design and installation company behind the system, is offering a free solar system to any player that ends up hitting the solar panels during a game at Coors Field. The panels, which have been powering the scoreboard since April, sit directly out in Center Field, so they’re a difficult target…but it’s still an impressive deal for both the lucky player and enviro-tech in general.
Besides being a great use of solar energy, IPS has done some pretty nifty things with regards to public interaction itself. For one, during the game, energy generation and usage stats are displayed below the scoreboard, showing the public exactly what’s going on with the system at the time. Also, the Rockies have included an educational display which goes through the system, how it operates, and the benefits of such a solution; this provides a great way to educate the public about the boons of solar power and how easy it can be to get into.
Finally, the coolest thing I’ve seen all day is this website, set up by IPS. I suspect the graphic shown here is similar to the one seen at Coors Field on the scoreboard, but this one is widely accessible. On the website, it also shows a number of pictures of the setup at Coors Field (which, to a little of my surprise, is a lot smaller than I expected to power such a huge LED and digital display scoreboard), so you can see exactly where the players have to hit to get that new solar system. Also, the graphic hosts some relevant information: you can see exactly how much power is being generated and how much is being used; apparently, the Rockies are also feeding the extra power (as of this writing, the system has produced 30 kWhs and used only 8 kWhs, although, apparently my browser just refreshed and now it shows they are importing around 3,000 Watts right now…) back out into the power grid, netting them a little credit from the energy company.
To me, the best part of all this is just seeing how prevalent solar power has/is become(ing). One of my first few posts on PaulTech was about solar power; seeing the industry expand, the benefits continually go up, and the wide adaptation of, not just this system, but this idea, is a great thing to behold if you’re a big fan of environmental awareness and especially if you’re a big fan of technology. Until next time…
Photos courtesy of: Independent Power Systems, SunPower;
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