US gets first solar-powered cinema

A movie theatre in Fairfax, California is the first US multiplex cinema to take advantage of solar power, its owners claim.

Cinema West, owners of the Fairfax 5 Theaters cinema complex, have fitted out the building, originally built in 1952, with rooftop solar panels which should offset about 1,000 tons of greenhouse gases over the lifetime of the system.

Dave Corkill, founder of Cinema West, who has operated the Fairfax 5 Theatres for more than 13 years, said that he wanted a sustainable and renewable energy solution for Fairfax Theatres. "Solar energy will not only help us offset our electricity costs, but will also reduce greenhouse emissions and propagate the environmental ideals of this progressive community," he said.

According to SPG Solar, which designed and installed the system, 42 solar panels have been installed on the cinema's roof. A State rebate and Federal tax credits helped pay for nearly half of the total system cost and the remainder should be recouped in energy savings over the next five years. The system should save about $627,000 (£353,000) in its 30-year life, SPG claims.

"Over its lifetime, the PV system at Fairfax Theatre is expected to offset nearly 1,000 tons of greenhouse gases, including more than two million pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to removing 180 cars from the road," said Ted Walsh, sales manager for SPG Solar.

The Cinema West complex might be the US's first solar cinema but numerous organisations operate solar-powered mobile cinemas, such as the Solar Cinema, which was recently set up at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK.

Despite Cinema West's enthusiasm for renewable energy, it is not clear at this stage whether the company's interest in solar power will begin to inform its choice of films and locals will be treated to re-runs of Empire of the Sun, Sunshine, Heat, and Shine.