Discovery World going solar
Milwaukee museum adds 650 solar panels on their rooftop capable of producing enough electricity to power about 100 Wisconsin homes
Milwaukee museum adds 650 solar panels on their rooftop capable of producing enough electricity to power about 100 Wisconsin homes
Milwaukee museum adds 650 solar panels on their rooftop capable of producing enough electricity to power about 100 Wisconsin homes
Walking into the main door of Discovery World, one of the first exhibits visitors find themselves in is often "Power On," a partnership with We Energies focusing on renewable energy.
"It’s very much one of those hands-on, interactive, exciting places in the building," said Bryan Wunar, Discovery World's president and CEO.
Inside the exhibit, kids are laughing and exploring, getting a chance to touch lightning. Across the room, a heat-sensing camera helps to teach about light, or solar, energy.
The push for sustainability and renewable energy doesn’t stop in the exhibit. Two rooftops at Discovery World are now covered in 650 solar panels, thanks to a partnership with We Energies.
"All of the work we do is to try and inspire generations to explore the wonders of science. We thought there's nothing more relevant than taking care of the world that we live in,” Wunar said.
The power being produced on the rooftop isn’t directly powering the museum. Instead, it’s being put back into We Energies' power grid.
"It's part of our really innovative and exciting Solar Now project where we partner with some of our large largest customers, in this case Discovery World, and we put solar panels on unused space," said Brendan Conway, a spokesperson with We Energies.
Conway said the once-empty rooftop will now generate enough electricity to power about 100 Wisconsin homes.
"To be able to tell the community, the state, people who are flying over, 'Hey, we're committed to, both from Discovery World and we energies, to clean energy.' It also sends a really strong message, both, you know, visually and also practically," Conway said.
Discovery World's solar message doesn’t end with the rooftop installation. A small area of construction in front of the building is the start of a solar tree.
Wunar said he hopes the 20-foot sculpture will be a visual representation of Discovery World's work and message.
"It'll be lit up every night using energy from the sun each day that we're able to capture and really use it as a very direct way to tell that story," Wunar said.
All the different pieces of the solar message hopefully get people of all ages thinking about the importance of sustainability and renewable energy.