For decades, the Santa Barbara Bowl has hosted world-class performances on a scenic open-air stage in southern California. Now, thanks to some recent improvements to its renewable power capabilities, it’s also showcasing what solar can do for an iconic entertainment venue and sustainability-focused foundation.

As part of its “Greening the Bowl” initiative, the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation wanted to take bigger steps to achieve its goal of powering concerts with 100% renewable energy. In 2017, it called on local solar professionals to submit bids for a new, higher capacity solar installation. Family-owned solar energy contractor, Sun Pacific Solar Electric Inc., was selected to design and realize a system expansion.

Photo: A. Arthur Fisher

After a multi-year design review, Sun Pacific determined that even with upgrades and maintenance, the bowl’s existing solar racking wouldn’t offer much to the foundation’s renewable power goal. Instead, the old system would be fully overhauled for something larger and more productive, while prioritizing the venue’s size constraints and aesthetics.

High-efficiency, high-integrity solar modules were chosen for a complete replacement of the bowl’s rooftop installation, along with an additional array on a second building. Sun Pacific completed the new 33.88 kW system in the spring of 2020 and enabled the venue to cover 30 percent of its annual power demands, but the project didn’t stop there.

To cover an even greater portion of the bowl’s energy needs, the foundation and Sun Pacific decided the best place to expand its solar capacity was on the ground. This would be done with the installation of seven MT Solar top-of-pole mounts.

The row of two-pole mounts is within sight of the stage. Each mount holds 30 modules in an optimal position to capture the Pacific coast sunlight. The arrays are slightly tilted to maximize their productivity from season to season.

For a location like this, the low-maintenance, sleekly structured mounts suit the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation’s commitment to good land stewardship practices.

Easy accessibility, built-in wire management, and a robust construction with minimal points of contact ensure the ground racking is not an obstruction or potential hazard to the native grass hillside.

After going online in 2022, the additional 210 modules upgraded the Santa Barbara Bowl’s complete solar system to a 133.33 kW capacity, covering 75% of the energy consumed by the venue’s facilities and concerts.

The project’s results have been powerful, saving over 827,000 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions and tens of thousands of dollars each year. Besides cost and carbon savings, the Santa Barbara Bowl’s solar system is an unmissable example of high-impact energy, sustainability, and community investment.