PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The $33 million PPG Science Pavilion has opened at the Carnegie Science Center and a major feature of the building consists of 96 donated solar panels on its roof.

The bifacial solar panels, donated by the Scalo family, will produce about 36,000 kilowatt-hours annually.

The solar panels will allow for capture and conversion of enough energy to:

• Power four homes for a year
• Prevent 30,000 lbs. of coal from being burned and released into our atmosphere
• Reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from 67,500 miles of driving by a passenger vehicle
• Sequester the same amount of carbon it would take a forest of 31.6 acres.

Museum-goers will be able to see in real-time the effect the panels have on the energy consumption of the building with a live monitoring feed on a dashboard in the main lobby of the center.

“We are grateful to be a part of such an amazing new addition to the educational efforts of the Science Center,” said Scalo Cos. CEO, Jack Scalo. “We hope that this donation inspires and educates the next generation of Pittsburghers on the power of clean and renewable energy.”

The donation to the Carnegie Science Center was announced less than a month after Scalo Solar Solutions revealed a similar donation to the prestigious Fox Chapel private school in Fox Chapel, Pa.

The school’s McIllroy Center for Science and Innovation — a 22,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility — received a donation of 104 solar panels that were installed by Scalo Solar Solutions.

The panels will produce 375 watts of power each, making it a 39kW system that will produce about 37,000 kilowatt-hours annually. Among other things, that’s enough to power three homes for the next 25 years.

More about Scalo Solar Solutions can be found at www.scalo-solar.com.