Disney has just announced plans to cut its carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2020.
The company now has multiple solar installations, with one of their most notable one being their Mickey Mouse installation that was completed in 2016 near Epcot Center. That project sits on 22 acres and generates enough electricity to power 820 homes.
Their most recent project is also in Florida. This recently completed 2019 installation is quite a bit larger than their Mickey Mouse shaped project. It is a 270 acre facility that can generate 50 MW at peak production.
This solar power project is providing power to the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando. The power plant is large enough to fully power 2 of the company’s 4 theme parks in Central Florida.
More than half a million solar panels comprise this massive system. At 50 MW, it can provide enough power for 10,000 homes. From an environmental perspective, this installation can prevent 57,000 tons of emissions from being produced which is the equivalent of taking 9,300 cars off of the road.
The United States is not the only locale where the company is going green. Disneyland Tokyo utilizes nearby solar rooftops to provide their electrical light parade with 600 KW of electricity. Geothermal energy is used in 2 of the company’s locations in Paris as well as a hotel. In Shanghai, the company utilizes a “heating and cooling plant” to reduce emissions by 60 percent.
Disney is yet another company that realizes that going solar and initiating other green measures has multiple benefits. The primary one includes the ability to save a significant amount of money over the long term. Also, the positive public relations achieved for doing the right thing environmentally has far reaching effects. If nothing else, this and other companies can avoid any potential future backlash for not reducing their carbon emissions.
When large corporations like Disney lead the way in solar power development they provide a great example of what others can do.
We can expect many others to follow suit soon!
