The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is no solar newbie. The zoo installed its first solar system in 2006 and then expanded in 2011 with a 1.56 MW carport. In August 2024, the zoo completed its third system, bringing an additional 2.8 MW of solar and shade for its visitors.
The zoo is closer to its goal to be net-zero by 2025, and the new system is now the largest publicly accessible urban solar array in the country. The new array is 80% larger in terms of max output as compared to the original array, but it’s only 20% larger in terms of square footage thanks to larger format bifacial modules. According to zoo officials, the solar systems will reduce the facility’s annual power bill to around $300,000 by 2030-2032, down from $1.6 million in 2005.
Cincinnati, Ohio | 2.85 MW
Project Details
Developer: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | EPC/Installer: Melink Solar | Modules: VSUN | Inverters: CPS | Mounting/Racking: Terrasmart
Adding more solar
By adding its third solar facility, the Cincinnati Zoo now has more than 4.5 MW of capacity on its property, according to Monica Niehaus, business development manager at Melink Solar, which served as EPC on the project.
“They’ve been a big believer in sustainable renewable energy for over 15 years,” says Niehaus. “They’ve done a number of sustainable practices over the years, having to do with reuse, organic waste and recycling, local procurement and farm food. This was just another opportunity after the Inflation Reduction Act was passed for them to take advantage of incentives that are offered to nonprofits.”
The addition of this latest solar project puts the Cincinnati Zoo about three-quarters of the way to its net-zero energy goals.
“One of the larger projects that the Cincinnati Zoo did on the solar side was the first parking canopy that we installed back in 2011,” Niehaus says. “At the time, that was producing about 25% of their total energy usage. The technology has come so far since then. Over the past 15 years, the price of solar has come down nearly 80%.”
Furthermore, the efficiency of the new solar canopy is much higher than the older system, according to JR Stoll, project manager at Melink Solar.
“The rough area of the initial canopy done in 2011 vs. the one that was just completed is roughly the same, but the energy production is almost doubled for this new canopy, which really highlights how far the industry has come in that short time frame,” Stoll says. “A couple other key aspects that the zoo was really keen on is the canopy has a much bigger span. We’re looking at a 50-ft span vs. a 34-ft span with the original canopy.”
Another key difference about the new solar parking canopy is the height.
“One of the key objectives for the zoo was to have every canopy on this new carport be over 14 ft tall to accommodate RVs and buses,” Stoll says. “On day one of us allowing buses into the parking lot, I think we had 52 buses come in, park under there, which was a really cool achievement for the zoo to show that what they had designed really came to fruition.”
Solar for the community
To help offset energy poverty in the neighborhood, the zoo also installed an additional 165 kW of panels through its Community Solar Resiliency Program (CSRP) to support smaller systems at churches, community centers, and schools for the town.
Niehaus explains that the goal of the CSRP is to “extend energy and climate resilience to Cincinnati communities” that otherwise can’t afford solar.
“The Cincinnati Zoo is the nation’s second oldest zoo,” Niehaus says. “If you’ve ever been there, it’s landlocked in an urban setting. While it is considered a smaller zoo, they’ve really become an innovator with this [CSRP initiative], and they’ve really been able to use this technology to benefit their surrounding community who lives in energy poverty.”
The zoo ordered extra modules and allocated them for use on community solar projects to help lower electric bills.
“They are very conscious with these projects that they could have a larger impact,” Niehaus says. “And they continue to push the envelope to show people what’s possible when it comes to implementing these types of projects.”
Canopy of challenges
Building the new solar parking canopy at the Cincinnati Zoo posed several challenges, says Brad Fey, operations manager for Terrasmart’s canopy division, which installed the mounting system. While Terrasmart was familiar with the site, having worked with Melink on the prior canopy project, what they found below ground required extra attention.
“We knew the site that they were looking at had a lot of underground utilities in it,” Fey says. “It was a spider web of underground utilities. The big challenge was upfront planning of knowing where those utilities were located, how to place columns to dodge as many of the utilities as possible.”
Project scheduling was another challenge the companies had to overcome.
“This is obviously working in an active parking lot where all their visitors park,” Fey says. “One of the big challenges was to coordinate deliveries and installation during the zoo’s non-peak hours.”
Melink worked with the zoo to find times when there would be lower visitor counts to be able to shut down the parking lot and allow crews to work.
“We essentially had the early part of the year to have the parking lot to ourselves,” Stoll adds. “And then it was a very sequenced schedule as far as opening up as the zoo got busier and busier, especially with some of the busing schedules with all the school events.”
Seeing is believing
As the largest publicly accessible urban solar array in the United States, Niehaus says that the new solar canopy serves as a landmark to welcome zoo visitors.
“The first thing they see is solar when they come and park,” she says. “And they get to benefit from the shaded parking after a hot summer day and go back into cool cars. And it’s the last impression that they have as they leave the zoo.”
In addition to being visitors’ first and last impression of the zoo, Stoll says the solar parking canopy also highlights its sustainability efforts.
“It’s something that clearly shows the zoo’s efforts in their sustainability journey, shows they’re willing to invest in these technologies,” Stoll says. “And then at the end of the day, they come back to their car and it’s a lot cooler than sitting in a 120-degree parking lot in the summer.”
The Cincinnati Zoo’s solar systems provide a connection for the public and renewable energy.
“A lot of solar installations feel very distant to people,” Niehaus says. “They’re driving on the highway, and they see these large utility-scale installations. Or a commercial facility has rooftop solar that you can’t see from the ground level. For visitors to be able to park underneath and look up and see the bifacial solar modules that can absorb light from both sides … it’s more obvious with this project that there are solar systems above their car, that it’s actually providing shaded parking too and powering the zoo.”