A cautionary tale overflowing with karma unfolded on Earth Day when the festivities planned for the Headwaters Center in Winter Park were cancelled due to a complete solar power outage.
The batteries which hold the solar panel-generated power completely crapped out, and the backup generators are completely without power.
Headwaters Director Holli Riebel explained in an email:
“Like all car batteries, they fail to hold energy any longer after five years.”
Timing is everything, and lessons have been learned that fossil fuel is our friend.
Going forward, Riebel said the center will use solar panels to offset its energy needs, reconnect to the power grid in the next month to provide reliable power and use generators as a backup if possible.
“We are looking at potentially replacing them (the batteries) in the future,” Riebel wrote. “But currently we need to go partly back onto the grid to supplement the solar.”
They expect to be back up and running to celebrate a belated Earth Day on July 28, World Conservation Day, which they will celebrate with a cash bar, live music, and a hefty dose of irony.
Colorado is receiving $9.5 MILLION from @ENERGY to help build out America’s domestic solar supply chain and develop technologies that strengthen our clean energy grid.
We’re accelerating towards a clean energy future with a ‘Made in America’ sticker on it. Giddy up!
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) April 23, 2023
They should probably develop better batteries first that don’t require rare Earth minerals mined by China.