NASCAR Pocono Race Track Goes Solar

NASCAR is not exactly what one would think of as a green sport, but that is changing. The NASCAR Pocono Race Track has gone solar in a huge way. 

What do you think of when someone mentions NASCAR? Well, stock cars banging and bashing into each other comes to mind. Beer drinking. Cowboy hats. Days of mayhem and so on. It is all in good fun, but one doesn’t really think of green technology. After all, I think it is safe to assume none of us will be seeing the Prius racing team any time in our lives. 

One raceway in NASCAR is turning this concept on its head. The track is known as Pocono and it has long been a standard bearer on the circuit. Being NASCAR, the track didn’t just install a few solar panels here and there. No, it went huge. By huge, I mean gigantic. I am talking about a 25 acre solar array producing over 3 megawatts of electricity. It is so big that it produces all the energy the track could need and enough for 1,000 more homes in the area. 

The idea behind the giant solar array unfortunately had nothing to do with going green. The motivation originated because of the deregulation of the energy industry in the area. The track was looking at up to a 40 percent increase in its energy costs. To fight this, it plunked down $17 million on the solar array. After it pays the cost off, it will be able to sell the energy that it doesn’t use to local communities and actually make money instead of spending it. 

Will this be the beginning of a trend in NASCAR? I doubt it. Every state has its own issues and few have the massive energy increases Pocono was facing. That being said, it does hint at something perhaps more profound. Installing a huge solar array system was considered a better financial deal than going with fossil fuel options. That is nearly revolutionary in and of itself!