Legoland Celebrates Earth Day, Introduces New Solar Project

Legoland Florida Resort has been in the news for solar projects in the past. Just last year, they worked with Tampa Electric and Duke for an Earth Day installation that was due to pave the way for bigger and brighter projects. And this year for Earth Day, one of those is finally getting underway.

In cooperation with Tampa Electric, the Central Florida amusement park is due to incorporate a 2-megawatt solar energy installation over its Preferred Parking lot, which will provide both shade for visitors’ cars and energy for the park. The project is expected to be finished by the end of this year, and it will house over 600 vehicles while generating 2 full megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power roughly 250 homes.

However, because Tampa Electric still owns the array of solar photovoltaic panels, the energy collected by the new solar energy equipment will be pumped into the TECO Energy grid that serves Tampa Electric’s 750,000 customer base. While Legoland is included in that customer base, they will not be the primary beneficiary of the installation, in spite of the array’s on-property location. However, they have still been able to power certain areas of their park, like Heartlake City, for years at a time with their various renewable energy projects.

But Legoland Florida has their hands in more than just solar when it comes to Earth Day initiatives. They also have a 30-kilowatt solar installation within the park’s Imagination Zone, a two-car charging station on property for electric and hybrid cars, and various recycling projects inside and outside of the park. Renewability, solar in particular, is becoming a staple of Orlando’s amusement park industry, and Legoland has proven yet again that there is benefit to solar even for large companies in Central Florida.