If you walk through the Furnace Creek Ranch oasis in Death Valley you cannot miss the many date palm trees that are propped up with wooden supports. No, the trees are not sick. More than 130 of them have simply been relocated to make room for a one-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system that will soon generate enough energy to power one third of the park concessionaire's needs -- about the same as what 400 average-sized homes would use. And it's appropriate that the facility is located in Death Valley, the sunniest place in the USA. When it goes online this spring, it will be the largest privately owned solar system in the country.
Over the next 30 years, the system will eliminate the emission of more than 284,000 tons of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide -- primary contributors to global warming, smog and acid rain. This is equal to planting more than 54,000 trees and removing more than 3,700 cars from California's highways. The system requires virtually no maintenance and will even withstand a direct hit from a golf ball from the Furnace Creek Golf Course -- easy hacker striking distance.
Oh, yes. . . the wooden palm tree supports will be removed once the trees' roots take hold.
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