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Woodland Park Zoo soaks up the sun

Posted by: Caileigh Robertson, Communications
Past the zoo’s LEED Gold-certified West Entrance and around the corner from the sustainably built Humboldt penguin exhibit, Woodland Park Zoo is rolling out yet another sun-soaking, solar project: the largest community solar project in Washington state.
Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo
Through a partnership with Seattle City Light and Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA), 60 new solar panels are currently being installed on the zoo’s Rain Forest Food Pavilion and behind-the-scenes Commissary building. Dubbed Community Solar on Phinney Ridge, the project includes placing a 16-kilowatt grid of solar panels on the zoo’s food pavilion—similar in appearance to the zoo’s solar-paneled Historic Carousel—and an additional 45-kilowatt system on the zoo’s animal food center. A hop, skip and jump from Woodland Park Zoo, PNA’s historic Phinney Center will also be boasting a new, energy efficient rooftop as part of the project. Together, the zoo and PNA will generate more than 75,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, making it the largest community solar project in the state.
Photo by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo

Best of all, zoo visitors, members and neighbors can all take part! City Light customers can purchase one or more pieces of Community Solar’s output for $150 per unit and, in return, will receive credit on their electric bills through 2020 for their units’ production—a worthwhile reward for their contribution to creating a more sustainable city.

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