Image Credit: .dh/Flickr
Installation of a 250 kW solar photovoltaic system has begun at Taliesin West, the onetime home and design studio of acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Working with First Solar and Big Green Zero, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is putting the system in place as part of its Energizing Taliesin West program, an initiative to make the entire campus a “net zero” energy customer, producing the same amount of energy that it consumes.
Becoming “net zero” will be no small feat for Taliesin West, as the campus was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982 and thus the integrity and historic nature of the buildings must remain intact. The Foundation will be working to maximize the energy efficiency of the existing buildings while adding the ability to generate its own electricity from renewable sources.
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation CEO Sean Malone said that they are “on track to making a world-famous National Historic Landmark site entirely self-sustaining” and that the Foundation “will continue to educate and empower new generations of innovative thinkers to address the critical issues of sustainability and healthy living environments.”
First Solar donated 4,000 solar panels for the project, which are capable of generating enough energy to power 40 average-sized Arizona homes while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions by 300 tons per year. The installation is expected to help cut the $200,000 energy bill by half, freeing up some much-needed money for programming and preservation efforts.
Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taliesin West was built in 1931 by Wright and used as a winter home and studio until his death in 1959. It has been the home of The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture for 75 years, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees to students interested in pursuing architecture as a career and is a popular destination for architecture buffs, with over 100,000 making the pilgrimage each year.
[via Get Solar and First Solar]