The fourth largest Natural History Museum in the US, and home to the Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium – the California Academy of Science – will soon have the largest photovoltaic (PV), sol…
The fourth largest Natural History Museum in the US, and home to the Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium – the California Academy of Science – will soon have the largest photovoltaic (PV), solar energy glass canopy in the country. The Academy has contracted Barnabus Energy, Inc., a California-based company that specializes in renewable energy projects to develop and install the new system, which will generate in excess of 213,000 kilowatts of electricity and will directly offset power that would have been supplied by the local electric company. Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano of Genoa, Italy, the Natural History Museum“s new building is part of an extensive rebuilding project in Golden Gate Park. The PV canopy will fully circumnavigate the building, and will be made up of 720 custom-built PV glass laminates designed to have the highest conversion efficiency available at 20%.