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NASCAR ILLUSTRATED: SOLAR IS BIG BUSINESS FOR TRACKS
April 24, 2015, Jay Pfeifer, NASCAR Illustrated


Five facilities join the growing solar movement, providing clean energy
When Daytona International Speedway announced during 2015 Speedweeks that the track would partner with Florida Power & Light to include a 5,000-panel solar installation as a part of the $400 million Daytona Rising renovation, it became the fifth track in NASCAR to join the growing solar movement.
In 2010, Pocono Raceway, went big on solar, dropping a 25-acre field of solar panels right outside the speedway grounds. Since it went online, the solar installation has produced over 15 million kilowatts which is enough to power 85,620 60-watt light bulbs for one year at eight hours a day.

That same year, Michigan International Speedway outfitted its 31-suite building and track media center with approximately 8,000 square feet of solar panels across the roof. As the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series track to use an alternative energy source, it joined AT&T Park in San Francisco, Staples Center in Los Angeles and U.S. Airways Arena in Phoenix as energy leaders in major league sports.

Sonoma Raceway installed approximately 1,600 panels in 2011 and last year, Indianapolis Motor Speedway converted 1,000 unused acres of track property into a power source with a 40,000-panel installation that can pump out nine megawatts of power.

And now, Daytona is taking on the cause.

Why?

The reason is simple: responsibility. By producing energy, the speedway can not only reduce its reliance on fossil fuel-produced energy, it can actually provide clean energy to the people who live in Daytona Beach.

"The energy returns to the grid -- hopefully, it's producing a benefit for everyone in this community," Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said after announcing the installation. "It was a no-brainer. If you're going to build a new venue, how can you not look at these options?"

Also, Chitwood says, the track's commitment to carbon-free energy comes with being a leader in the motorsports industry.

"It was an easy conversation: 'We're making a huge investment, let's talk about some sustainable practices.' And solar was a great opportunity to tie those together."

Daytona's solar setup will be slightly different from the others in that it will be integrated into the fan experience, instead of concentrated in a single zone.

"We're going to add them in three areas: the parking lot to the south of us, lot 10; we're going to have canopies in the Sprint FanZone -- it will be a shade structure -- and then we will have it in our midway area, in front of our grandstand. So, really three different ways to showcase the technology. The key was, we wanted fans to see it up close and personal versus that distant, 'Oh-it's-over-there-and-I-don't-know-what-it-is' experience."

But of course, solar installations aren't strictly limited to sprawling race tracks.

Slowly but surely, they are becoming a viable option for individual residences.

Andy Flynn, tire specialist for the No. 3 Cup car, took advantage of his connections to Dow and became the first person in North Carolina to have Dow Powerhouse solar shingles installed on his house.

"I had been researching residential solar for years and I had actually already decided that I wanted to have the Dow Powerhouse Shingle installed before RCR and Dow announced we were getting together," he said.

The panels were installed last June and Flynn is now a registered utility in North Carolina.

The low-profile solar panels could almost be mistaken for regular shingles ("My H.O.A. was a little nervous until they saw them," Flynn said.) and in fact, are installed almost exactly like a standard roof -- with the only exception being two holes for the incoming and outgoing wires. Flynn's setup can produce about 3.36 kilowatts, which won't quite cool his house completely in the summer but in the spring and fall, Flynn's house produces enough energy that it returns it to the grid, providing carbon-free electricity to the Concord, North Carolina area.