Six Flags announces California’s largest solar energy project
Six Flags is taking advantage of the 200+ days of sunshine per year in Southern California to install the state’s largest solar energy project at Six Flags Magic Mountain, enabling the 209-acre park to offset 100% of its energy usage with solar power.
The Valencia, Calif. theme park’s new 12.37-megawatt solar carport and energy storage system will be the largest single-site commercial renewable energy project in California and the largest solar project allocated toward a for-profit organization in the U.S., distinguishing Six Flags’ as the world’s largest for-profit organization site powered by renewable energy.
“This is a thrilling day for Six Flags as we advance our commitment to environmental stewardship, substantially increasing solar power generation capacity at our parks,” said Jason Freeman, Six Flags Vice President of Operations, Public Safety, Engineering & Maintenance. “Six Flags has placed a high priority on efforts to improve and protect the environment, leading the way for theme park companies around the world and capturing the attention of other private organizations that also have the power to drive solar projects.”
Key facts about the Six Flags Magic Mountain solar energy project:
- 12.37-megawatt solar carport will be built over the main guest parking lot
- Battery storage system will produce 1.958 megawatts of power with 7,886.3 kilowatt hours of capacity that can be deployed daily
- Produce 20.8 million kilowatt hours of energy annually, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2,874 homes and 1.79 million smartphones charged
- Offset greenhouse gas emissions each year comparable to 34,194 barrels of oil consumed, 5,110 tons of waste recycled rather than landfilled, and 17,612 acres of U.S. forests
- Offset carbon dioxide equivalents each year comparable to taking 3,182 cars off the road, 37.8 million miles driven by an average gasoline-powered automobile, and 1.6 million gallons of gasoline consumed
- Produce 517.89 million kilowatt hours of energy in a 25-year period, which offsets greenhouse gas energy consumption equivalent to 911 million miles driven by gasoline-powered automobiles and the carbon sequestration equal to 434.3 thousand acres of trees planted
“Here in California, innovation and climate action go hand-in-hand,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom. “Six Flags’ commitment to clean energy is the type of work that will power our future and ensure our kids have a healthy planet to call home.”
In addition to the Six Flags Magic Mountain installation, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Northern California and Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey have also developed onsite solar capabilities with over 30 megawatts of fully-operational solar power systems already installed. Combined, the three parks will rank as the most significant volume of onsite Solar PV systems for any U.S. organization, with 42.37 megawatts.
Six Flags is committed to protecting and improving the environment and its communities by actively reducing the environmental impact of park operations, adopting solar power throughout its operations, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For more information regarding Six Flags’ sustainability initiatives, visit https://www.sixflags.com/sustainable-six.
