February 21, 2023
A Magic Kingdom for Pollinators | How Disney uses its commitment to solar energy to expand habitat for pollinators
By Chris Warren
Sustainability-minded visitors to Walt Disney World’s EPCOT in Florida may well find themselves lingering outside the entrance of the 305-acre attraction theme park. That’s because a 22-acre swath of land just outside the park is home to a 48,000-panel, 5-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head.
It’s appropriate that EPCOT is the site of such a conspicuous and memorable solar power plant. Conceived by Walt Disney himself, EPCOT originally stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and its attractions celebrate the magic of possibility through technological innovations and humanity’s capacity to forge a better future together. But the solar plant is by no means ornamental. Along with the much-larger, 270-acre, and 57 MW Citrus Ridge Solar facility (also known as FL Solar 5) nearby, solar now provides enough renewable electricity to operate two of the four Disney theme parks in Orlando.
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