Yosemite National Park is the newest national park with solar installations. SolarWorld, a photovoltaic manufacturer, installed the solar panels, which will provide 672 kilowatts of energy throughout the park.

“The combination of harnessing California’s abundant sunlight and technology and labor provided by U.S. workers ideally suits this energy advance for Yosemite National Park,” said Superintendent Don Neubacher.

The solar panels will be installed at the park’s parking canopy providing cover for employees and visitors, atop ma warehouse, and on the wall of an office building. The three fixtures combined is though to be the power source for roughly 12 percent of the park’s total energy consumption.

The whole energy system, located on the western edge of the park, will provide 800,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy per year using 2,8000 solar panels.

The solar installation is the largest-grid connected solar panel system owned and operated by the National Park service.

Expected savings for the park are valued at $50,000 per year, and an energy rebate of $700,000 from Pacific Gas & Electric is anticipated over the next five years.