On May 27, Longwood Gardens began generating electricity from its 1.5MW solar field.
The Kennett Square garden is home to over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows.
The solar field will produce about 2 million kilowatt hours a year, which is the electrical equivalent of powering 181 average homes. Longwood Gardens reports that the switch to solar is expected to offset energy consumption by almost 28 % and will reduce the garden’s annual CO2 emissions by over 1,300 tons.
A majority of project funding comes from a $1.3 million grant from PA Green Energy Works!, with other funds coming from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and a $500,000 Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant.