For many more years, sunny days at Dow Diamond will provide more than just a nice afternoon to watch the Great Lakes Loons.
A ribbon cutting by the Midland Business Alliance on Thursday afternoon celebrated 80 new solar panels outside the east end of the stadium in Midland, which will provide more than 50,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually to help power operations at Dow Diamond, home to events throughout the year.
That’s about the twice the capacity of the original 168 solar panels that were installed when Dow Diamond was new in 2007 and went offline about two years ago.
“This is another milestone in our history. Dow Diamond has served as example of sustainability and sports,” Loons President and General Manager Chris Mundhenk told a small group gathered to celebrate the new panels, which were manufactured by Jinko Solar using polysilicon from nearby Hemlock Semiconductor and then installed by Blasy Electric of Midland.
“This demonstrates a partnership founded on community, shared values and commitment to sustainability and innovation, which for the Loons is one of our key pillars,” Mundhenk continued. “So I say, to Hemlock Semiconductor and Jinko Solar, a genuine thank you for believing in this project and the values it represents; and to Brad Blasy and Blasy Electric, thank you for your leadership.”
Mundhenk estimated the solar panels will generate annually about a month’s worth of the energy that is consumed at Dow Diamond.
He also noted that the money saved through solar energy helps boost the amount of grant money distributed throughout the region by the nonprofit Michigan Baseball Foundation from the proceeds from Loons games and other events at Dow Diamond.
“We leverage the success of the Loons to impact the community through grants from the Michigan Baseball Foundation. It’s projects like this that enable us to do that for the foreseeable future,” he said.
Phil Rausch, Hemlock Semiconductor Senior Vice President – Commercial, said the collaboration between Hemlock SC, Dow Diamond, Blasy Electric and Jinko Solar – the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels – is also a triumph of U.S. innovation.
“This solar array represents American innovation being reshored,” Rausch said. “The polysilicon is from Michigan; the panels were built in Florida. We’re producing the most affordable energy source of the 21st century right here in America by American workers powering America’s pastime.”