Solar Power

Solar power is reducing the National Butterfly Center’s carbon footprint

The National Butterfly Center is delivering on its mission of growing connections between people, plants, pollinators and the planet with a new solar array, featuring 102 solar panels. The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club donated almost $90,000 to pay for the array, which will save nearly $250,000 in energy costs through its lifetime production. In addition, the 34.17 kW solar array allows the National Butterfly Center to reduce its carbon footprint by 50%.

The Center tracks electricity usage in kilowatt hours and calculates the carbon that was offset by using solar power. The Center’s site showcases this information, allowing guests to track the figures and gain an understanding of how solar energy reduces CO2 emissions.

Each year, the Center will prevent 65,000 pounds of CO2 from being released in the air through the use of solar power. That amount of CO2 is the same as taking 2,500 cars off the road for a day, 60 households turning off their lights for a year or recycling almost 61,000 pounds of waste instead of sending it to the landfill.