April 22, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

For Earth Day, Tampa Electric and Legoland Florida celebrated a first in the United States, with their partnership to make the 150-acre theme park run completely on renewable energy for the day, as part of existing and new conservation initiatives -- including installations that will educate park guests about solar energy.

Legoland Florida. Credit: Tampa Electric

The result of Legoland Florida running on renewable energy for an entire day is environmental savings equal to removing three cars from the road for one year or planting six acres of trees -- a strong statement in favor of renewable energy.

Funded by Tampa Electric, Legoland will permanently power the Imagination Zone portion of the park using renewable energy with the installation of a 30 kW solar panel array mounted atop the Imagination Zone. The system supports Tampa Electric's renewable energy program, which allows customers to purchase a portion of their electricity from renewable sources.

"This is a partnership built on doing the right thing for the environment," said Bruce Narzissenfeld, vice president of Marketing, Customer Service, Business Development and Fuel Operations for Tampa Electric. "Together, we'll teach the next generation about the benefits of investing in renewable fuels like the sun to produce electricity."

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