The Solar Ark is an ark-shaped solar photovoltaic power generation facility which offers activities to cultivate a better appreciation of solar power generation, and thereby benefitting both ecology and science. This 315-meter-wide, 37-meter-tall facility is located in Anpachi, Gifu Prefecture, in the geographical center of Japan, and can be seen from the JR Tōkaidō bullet train, which runs past on an adjacent railway. It has over 5000 panels that produce approximately 530,000 kilowatt-hours on an annual basis and a maximum system power of 630 kilowatts.
Stationed at the center of the Solar Ark is the Solar Lab, a museum of solar energy and one of the more unusual museums in the world. A unique, hands-on, outdoor light exhibition was planned for opening in 2005, for the first time in Japan. The Solar Ark was an enterprise partner with the 2005 World Exhibition, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the largest solar buildings in the world.
Read more about Solar Ark: History, Design, Museum, Awards, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words solar and/or ark:
“Senta: These boats, sir, what are they for?
Hamar: They are solar boats for Pharaoh to use after his death. They’re the means by which Pharaoh will journey across the skies with the sun, with the god Horus. Each day they will sail from east to west, and each night Pharaoh will return to the east by the river which runs underneath the earth.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“My ark sings in the sun
At God speeded summer’s end
And the flood flowers now.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)