Turning daylight into green power
June 20 this year was the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year in terms of daylight. Normally, this annual event – when the sun makes its highest arching path across the sky – would be treated like any other day, except at Smart Toyota. This year marked the fourth summer solstice the automotive dealership has had solar panels installed, and their team is excited to find out just how much of the sun’s energy can be harvested in a single day.
In October of 2017, Smart Toyota began installing solar panels on the rooftop of their facility at 5901 Odana Road in Madison in order to use solar energy to help power their operations. The installation was completed in November 2017, certified in December 2017, and is the largest solar panel system installed by an automotive dealership in Wisconsin.
Smart Toyota | Madison, WI | Rooftop Solar Panels
Smart’s system is comprised of 940 SolarWorld panels and is a 325 kilowatt DC (direct current) rated structure generating approximately 429,154 kilowatt hours per year. The rate of energy production will diminish by about 1 percent per year over its estimated 25-year lifespan, meaning in that quarter-century, the solar energy gathering system will yield about 9,655,417 kilowatt hours. Since its installation, the solar panel system generates about 37 percent of the energy needed to run the building annually. During the summer months though the system can generate up to 50 percent of the power needed for their operation. As of June 10th, 2021, the dealership already reaped 1.17 GWh of solar energy.
Here are a few fun facts about solar energy:
● More energy from the sun lands on the face of the earth in one hour than the entire global population uses in one year.
● In 2003, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that 90 percent of the electricity used by the U.S. could be generated from solar panels installed in abandoned industrial sites in our nation’s cities.
● Elon Musk and the International Energy Agency predict that solar energy will become the world’s largest energy source by the year 2031.
● Costs for utility-scale solar panels have dropped by 85 percent since 2009, becoming an increasingly financially viable option for average Americans across the country.
● The solar industry was responsible for creating one in every 50 jobs added in the U.S. during 2016.
● In 2016, an average of 31,000 solar panels were installed every hour worldwide, with 1.3 million in the U.S. alone.
● The US Energy Information Administration states that, unlike fossil fuels, solar energy “(does) not produce air pollutants or carbon dioxide.”
The National Auto Dealers Association (NADA) notes that auto dealerships face close to $2 billion in energy costs annually, their third highest operating expense. Many dealerships and auto manufacturers like Toyota are investing in a variety of energy upgrades like solar energy, efficient LED lighting, and electric vehicle charging stations, all of which are being implemented by Smart Toyota.
Unless you are 35 feet in the or higher, the panels are virtually invisible.
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