In October 2020, Huntsville Utilities, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, local officials and Seven States symbolically opened a groundbreaking solar-powered, EV charging station that utilizes battery storage for greater functionality. Project Liftoff serves as an educational exhibit about the United States’ space program’s use of solar power in space exploration.
The combination of solar power and battery storage offers an economic assist to the USSRC by allowing them to offset energy usage by using the 30kW of electricity generated by solar power right in their parking lot.
In addition to helping the not-for-profit USSRC offset their energy costs, the Project Liftoff installation promises to help educate the thousands of visitors who pass through the center during a typical year about how solar power has enabled solar exploration, from the early solar panels that powered the Vanguard 1 satellite launched in 1958 to NASA’s current use of solar arrays to power everything from the Mars Rover to the International Space Station.
The outstanding results of the collaboration involved in bringing Project Liftoff to fruition also illustrates the power of partnership among the Tennessee Valley’s 153 local power companies.
