Mickey Mouse may be dancing on a solar panel floor next time you visit Hong Kong’s Disneyland, as operators of the theme park plan to turn the 1.26-square-kilometer fairyland into one of the largest rooftop solar farms in Asia and offset some of its carbon footprint.
The resort aims to generate no less than 1.86 megawatt-hours of solar power per year from panels installed on its rooves and on some lawns.
That is equivalent to annual consumption of 564 three-people households combined. It should be enough for the amusement park and to sell electricity to the city’s grid operator CLP.
Some 4,500 solar cells will generate a return of about HK$5 million (US$639,475) per year for the amusement park to recoup its initial investment.
The move is part of a government-led feed-in tariff scheme to encourage the use of renewable energy for domestic and commercial purposes, according to city’s newspapers.
But the park expects it may still need about 10 years to break even.
Disneyland will also cut its carbon emissions by 1.18 million kilograms a year upon completion of the project by the end of this year.
On Hong Kong Island, Disneyland’s “rival” venue Ocean Park has also joined the feed-in tariff scheme with HK Electric. It is expected to generate 660 kWp of electricity annually by next year, equivalent to the annual power consumption of 165 households.
Operator of the one-square-kilometer attraction will install a solar power system of about 460 kWp and sell the ‘green’ power generated to HK Electric.
Ocean Park, which welcomed 7.8 million pleasure-seekers in 2018, completed its 10-year carbon reduction targets four years ahead of schedule in the 2017-18 financial year, to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 10%.
Both venues expect to win more public support by their community-minded initiatives.