HOLLYWOOD — Hollywood Center Studios (www.hollywoodcenter.com) has built two large solar power systems that will generate electricity for its 11 stages. The stages are used to produce film, television and commercial productions, and include Stage Five and Six, which were originally built in 1919 and featured clerestory windows so that film productions could be lit with natural light.
Roseville, CA-based Solar Power Inc. designed and built the solar powered system, which will come online in June and are expected to generate more than 350,000 kilowatt hours per year. The system will help reduce the studios’ electricity bill and further its goal to be a greener operation.
“We hope to slow electrical consumption, especially during peak hours, and that could have a significant effect on our energy costs,” explains Hollywood Center Studios executive VP/COO Tim Mahoney. “Solar energy also appeals to the environmental concerns that we have — as well as many of the production companies that use our stages.”
More than 700 solar panels have been installed on the roofs covering Stages 10 and 11, the facility’s newest stages, and some 384 modules have been installed on the roofs of Stages Five and Six. Design and construction of the system took more than a year. Hollywood Center Studios plans to add similar systems to other stages and buildings.
Hollywood Center Studios has been actively pursuing a number of initiatives to operate in a more environmentally-friendly manner. The studio has an ongoing program to replace the thousands of incandescent light bulbs on the lot with low-power LED units. It also operates a recycling program that salvages material that would be otherwise thrown away.