Infineon Raceway Adds Solar Panels for Power, Sheep for Mowers

There is no better place to test alternative fuels and energy than at the race track. So imagine how happy I was to hear that Infineon Raceway has added 353 KW of solar panels, and an army of hungry sheep, to its green portfolio.

The massive solar array was unveiled about a week ago, and consists of 1,652 separate solar panels strategically located at five positions around the race track. Together, the 353 KW solar system will be able to provide up to 41% of the racetrack’s power usage. Panasonic began installing the HIT photovoltaic panels last fall, and only just completed it at the end of June. Infineon is getting some great publicity, and big cost savings to boot. Going green, saving green, that’s the way it’s gotta be.

But it isn’t the only green initiative Infineon officials has undertaken. A flock of about 3,000 sheep continually graze the fields around the track, and owl boxes around the perimeter lure the predators here to help keep the rodent and insect population down without using pesticides. Along with the installation of a new LED video board that consumes 50% less power, this green raceway is among an elite few now drawing power from the elements around it, and cutting their energy bills down by big margins.

Pocono Raceway made headlines last year after unveiling a 3 MegaWatt solar array on 25 acres that completely powers the historic racetrack, and will pay itself off in four to five years. I don’t know how long Infineon’s solar system will take to pay off, but you can’t put a price on good, green publicity. Head over to Inhabitat for a slew of pictures and more info on this new solar panel array.

Source: Inhabitat | Infineon Raceway | Images: Mike Chino/Inhabitat

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

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Tags: Green, Infineon Raceway, infineon solar panels, LED videoboard, Motorsports, Panasonic, panel, sheep, sheep mowing, solar, Solar Panels

About the Author

Christopher DeMorro A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, Chris can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.

http://importantmedia.org/members/susannaschick/ Susanna Schick

awesome! I love that they’re inviting the natives to do the groundskeeping! Mugello just renovated their garages and it looks like they have a nice solar roof too.
http://www.concernergy.com/ Concernergy

Now this is certainly a brilliant step towards making things more environment friendly. First of all the efforts for using solar energy for the track is a great initiative and using sheep as mowers is a very nice thought. I believe many places like Infineon racetrack can use these ideas to go green. Thanks for sharing.
http://Web Mickey

Sheep. To those that don’t have to actually race at the race track sheep grazing the hill side seems like a good idea. And in the sense of “green” maybe it does. However sheep eating a lot of grass have to deposit that eaten grass somewhere and when it’s on the racing line it can be a little slippery. No offense to the greenies out there but I don’t want to crash my motorcycle in sheep shit. The little critters are well like sheep so they follow each other and use the same path to cross the asphalt every time. So it’s not like there’s feces everywhere. Instead it’s in one or 2 places and concentrated. I’m sure the cars don’t notice it a bit, but for the motorcycles it’s much more prevalent. Besides the sheep baaaahhh all night long making it hard to fall asleep when camping at the track.
- http://www.sublimeburnout.com Christopher DeMorro
  
  @ Mickey
  
  I’m pretty damn sure they don’t let the sheep shit on the track…
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