Disney World Set to Use 40 Percent Solar Energy in 2023 

Walt Disney World recently announced its plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2030 by installing two 75-megawatt solar arrays, according to a news release by One Green Planet. These arrays will result in roughly 40% of Disney World’s electricity being powered by solar energy.  

“Our commitment to the environment goes beyond imagining a brighter, more sustainable future by putting possibility into practice to ensure a happier, healthier planet for all,” said Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, according to the news release. 

The project will include installing roughly 500,000 solar panels, which will produce more than 375,000-megawatt-hours of carbon-free solar energy within a year of operation. Other Disney locations, including Disneyland Paris, are developing solar installations such as solar parking-lot canopies, which reduce greenhouse emissions by 750 tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to One Green Planet.  

Conservation Blueprint, a company that works within the renewable energy industry to design, establish, and manage the final vegetative cover on solar energy projects, has partnered with the team at Walt Disney World to design seed mixtures to be used with the solar energy installations. Peter Berthelsen, a stakeholder with the AgriSolar Clearinghouse and president of Conservation Blueprint, stated, “Creating and managing renewable energy projects with pollinator benefits in mind is a great way to [achieve] environmental sustainability results.” 

The solar arrays will begin operations in 2023. The installation will make Disney the largest commercial consumer of solar energy in the state of Florida.