Kangaroos love solar too
We recently had the distinct privilege of visiting the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, on the occasion of Lilly’s first birthday. Lilly’s not your typical toddler: she’s a precocious red kangaroo. She lives under three Spotlight Solar “trees.”
We know we’re biased, but we’re pretty sure this is the coolest thing ever!
Everything about the new “Lands of Change: Australia and Beyond” habitat is surprising and wonderful. A path through Lilly’s home is there to keep the people in, leaving Lilly and her kangaroo family free to hop around as they please —including where people are walking. Overhead is a canopy of bright green solar structures, which generate clean energy for the zoo and provide shade for the roos.
This project was made possible by the members of SolarNow, a voluntary program offered by Florida Power & Light (the electric utility that serves the area) and the zoo’s conservation initiative. Part of the mission of SolarNow is to build solar where a lot of people can see it and learn about it, and complement the millions of other solar panels that FPL is deploying.
As my Spotlight Solar colleague Rob Surra and I took pictures with goofy smiles on our faces, we overheard a young family talking about the solar-enhanced habitat: “Wow, what’s this? I think it’s solar… so cool... FPL, huh?... Awesome!” Our smiles became goofier.
This is precisely why we created Spotlight Solar. We want to make solar interactive and top-of-mind, to put it in the public eye in wonderful and unexpected ways, so that more people will consider “going solar” themselves or even become solar champions. What could be more positive and memorable than kangaroos hopping around you as you enjoy the shade of great looking solar?
So, if you’ve got a kangaroo habitat, we’ve got the perfect solar solution for you. Or maybe you have some other kind of property that a lot of people visit.
Let’s talk about it at Solar Power International in Las Vegas, September 11–13, at booth 4157. You can book a meeting with us at this link. If you're not going to the show, Contact Us here.