PHOTO COURTESY OF PANASONIC

Panasonic in partnership with the Seattle Mariners announced the installation of a solar panel system comprised of 168 Panasonic HIT® Double solar panels at Safeco Field, the Seattle Mariners' home ballpark. HIT® Double solar panels are unique because they are aesthetic and able to absorb and generate electricity from both the top and bottom sides of the panel.

The project is part of the Seattle Mariners ongoing commitment to sustainability that includes electric vehicle charging stations, high-efficiency lighting and other eco-friendly measures. InSpec Group, the contractor on the project, has designed the 168 Panasonic solar panel system to be mounted on the elevator canopy of the parking garage and the roof of the skybridge that spans Edgar Martinez Drive.

The 32.76-kilowatt system will generate approximately 40,000-kilowatt hours of power annually which will be filtered into the Safeco Field distribution grid. Fans will be able to track the amount of power generated by the solar panels on the monitors inside the ballpark.

According to Jim Doyle, president of the Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company, "The Mariners have a commitment to sustainability and our system will help them achieve their goal by saving using a natural power source, the sun, reducing Safeco Field's energy costs and making their fans aware of how solar energy generation, even in places like Seattle, can make a difference for any commercial site."

Noted environmentalist and actor Ed Begley Jr., a proponent of solar panel systems, is working with Panasonic on a solar panel installation system for his new home that he is building in Los Angeles. "The installation of Panasonic's bifacial panels at Safeco Field sounds like a home run to me," said Begley, Jr. "Safeco Field will reap many benefits with this solar panel system. For Safeco and the Mariners, it makes economic sense to use the power of the sun to help reduce their energy costs. In addition, it puts them in the environmental forefront with their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program," Begley, Jr. added.