Six Flags Magic Mountain solar: 22,908 panels, 109 chargers

Electrek reports that Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, has turned on a 12.37 MW solar carport, the largest in California and one of the biggest single-site commercial solar carports in the US.

The installation uses 22,908 bifacial RECOM panels spread across 36 carport structures. Bifacial panels gather light from both faces, including some that reflects off the pavement. The canopies cover about 637,000 square feet and keep roughly 4,315 parking spaces in the shade: 3,544 for guests and 771 for employees.

That shade is the sleeper win here. On a hot day, a carport is working even when the sun isn't feeding the grid. It's the same double duty that makes a hybrid appealing: one thing doing two jobs.

The project also adds 109 EV charging connectors across the guest and employee lots, per Electrek. A 2 MW/8 MWh battery bank stores power for later. Run it at the full 2 MW and the 8 MWh holds about four hours of discharge.

Six Flags expects the panels to generate roughly 20.8 million kWh a year, enough to offset the annual electricity use of both the park and neighboring Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles, Electrek reports. The park stays wired to Southern California Edison, drawing grid power when the sun falls short and exporting surplus when the battery is full. The long-term goal is to offset 100% of annual electricity use.

Construction broke ground Nov. 1, 2023, with Solar Optimum and DSD Renewables. Magic Mountain follows solar installs at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Northern California and Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey.

The same land now parks the car, shades it and makes electricity.

That's the part worth remembering on a 100-degree day in Valencia. A parking lot is already paved, already covered in cars, and rarely has a higher use for the space. Putting panels over it turns the least controversial piece of real estate at any theme park into the one that pays the power bill.

• EV charging
• Magic Mountain
• Six Flags
• solar carport
• Solar Optimum
• Valencia