Six Flags brings new meaning to ‘solarcoaster’ with completed PV project

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles County has switched on a large solar power system built over its parking lots. The project, developed with Solar Optimum, covers about 637,000 square feet with 36 carport structures over roughly 4,315 parking spaces. It uses nearly 23,000 solar panels along with a battery storage system (2 megawatts, 8 megawatt-hours of storage) that can hold power for use when the sun isn't shining. The setup also includes 109 electric vehicle charging stations.

The system is designed to generate enough power to cover all the annual electricity use of both Six Flags Magic Mountain and the neighboring Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles water park. It stays connected to the regular Southern California Edison power grid, so the parks can still draw electricity when the solar panels and batteries aren't producing enough on their own. The project is described as the largest solar carport installation in California and one of the largest single-site commercial solar carport systems in the country.

For homeowners, this isn't a program you can apply to, but it points to a trend worth knowing about: pairing solar panels with battery storage and EV charging is becoming more common, even at large commercial scale. If you've looked into solar for your own home, this is the same basic combination — panels, battery backup, and EV charging — just built much bigger.