Royals add new power to their lineup: solar power

Baseball isn’t heliostats…baseball is Sunny Jim Bottomley rounding second!

The Kansas City Royals baseball team is getting greener with the largest in-stadium solar array generating electricity in Major League Baseball.

The 160 solar panels, which have been installed and tested, are expected to produce 36,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to power for four homes. That won’t be enough to meet all the stadium’s electricity needs but should provide most if not all of a crucial element of the game.

“Your beer is going to be cooled by the sun,” said Chuck Caisley, a spokesman for Kansas City Power & Light.

...The installation of the panels was completed Monday. They’re at the back of the ballpark and stretch around most of the outfield. They can be clearly seen from most seats although they blend in — blue solar panels in brushed aluminum frames. The panels are non-reflective and tilted to keep any reflections from interfering with play. That wsa a concern of Major League Baseball, which had to approve the stadium change.

The design also had to deal with obstacles unique to a ballpark. The array is in two sections, so none will be behind the scoreboard, which would have cast a shadow reducing their effectiveness.