The California Academy of Science, the fourth largest Natural History Museum in the USA will soon also be the home to the largest photovoltaic (PV), solar energy glass canopy in the country. Barnabus Energy Inc, a California-based company that specializes in renewable energy projects, has just been contracted by The Academy to develop & install the system as part of an extensive rebuilding project in Golden Gate Park. The new system will generate in excess of 213,000kW of electricity & will directly offset power that would have been supplied by the local electric company. Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano of Genoa, Italy, the new building will include a Barnabus Energy-designed PV canopy that will fully circumnavigate the building. Each of the 720 custom-built PV glass laminates is designed to have the highest conversion efficiency available. With oil and gas prices hovering at near-record prices, recent energy stock investment articles in Fortune (12/26/05), USA Today (12/19/05), and CNN/Money (11/05/05) continue the discussion about the growing trend to invest in alternative energy to help lessen the world's reliance on oil and gas.
