Today, the new Thomas Jefferson Solar Canopy at Mount Rushmore National Memorial was unveiled at the Mt. Rushmore national park in Keystone, South Dakota. The 346 kilowatt project, designed and managed by Pivot Energy, includes 975 solar modules which are mounted on top of the Washington parking garage. The project is the second largest solar installation in the state.
Last month, SunPower awarded Pivot Energy with the 2018 “Intelegant Award for Excellence,” for exceptional design and installation of the Thomas Jefferson Solar Canopy project. The award recognizes residential and commercial dealer installations that exemplify SunPower’s commitment to excellence in aesthetics, quality, workmanship, and customer satisfaction.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of a project that provides clean energy to one of America’s most iconic national memorials,” said Rick Hunter, CEO of Pivot Energy. “We’d like to thank our project partners for their hard work and collaboration to bring this highly anticipated project online.”
The project, funded by the park concessioner, Xanterra Travel Collection, will generate enough electricity to power half of the park’s restaurant and gift shop. It’s estimated to save the equivalent of 56 metric tons of CO2 per year which is the equivalent of taking 30 passenger vehicles off the road each year.
“This system promotes energy independence and highlights the cost-saving and environmental benefits of distributed solar energy generation. It shows that solar energy can be a cost-effective and practical solution not just in California or Arizona, but also in the heartland of America. Solar energy is now one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, forms of power in every state, and South Dakota is no exception. We couldn’t be more excited to be Xanterra’s partner on this project,” said Mat Elmore, Managing Director, Mountain Region of Pivot Energy.
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About Pivot Energy
Pivot Energy is a Denver-based solar energy company that is focused on helping accelerate the rapid transition taking place in the energy industry to a more decentralized and cleaner approach to power generation. Pivot offers a distributed energy platform that includes a range of services and software aimed at serving the full commercial solar ecosystem, including retail customers, project developers, system operators, utilities, and financiers. The company develops, finances, builds, and manages community and commercial solar projects around the country. Pivot operates on a triple bottom line basis, measuring success by the positive impact to people, planet, and profit. Learn more at pivotenergy.net.
