Solar panel dedicated at Fort Washington State Park

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn joined the Bureau of State Park officials Tuesday in dedicating a solar panel installation at Fort Washington State Park, reflecting a series of state park installations designed to make the spaces more energy-independent.

“The Wolf Administration is committed to reducing energy consumption and increasing our sustainability efforts statewide,” Dunn said. “We began our ‘Driving Toward Sustainability Tour’ yesterday at Mt. Pisgah State Park, where a solar-shingle roof was installed at that Bradford County facility. It was there that the late environmental leader, Clifford L. Jones, first introduced solar power to a state park, and his vision is celebrated here today at Fort Washington, where this new solar unit eventually will make the park energy-independent.”

Committed to the deployment of energy efficient materials and systems, DCNR manages more than 47,000 buildings within its geographically diverse state park and forest systems.

“By using clean energy from the sun, DCNR is deploying small-scale solar arrays to take certain buildings and facilities off the grid, saving money and reducing DCNR’s carbon footprint,” Dunn said. “Here at Fort Washington, this ground-mounted solar array system has been sized to achieve not only ‘net zero’ electricity usage at the park manager’s residence but for the remaining four other electric accounts for the park. This ‘net zeroing’ of an entire state park will be the first of its kind at DCNR.”