This solar-powered ‘flower’ in a Charlotte park is part of a lesson on air quality
Mecklenburg County unveiled a new tool Friday — Earth Day — that will show how vital and resourceful clean air is to the community’s well-being.
The Air Quality Learning Station in uptown’s First Ward Park combines air-monitoring technology with a Smartflower solar panel to offset the energy used, according to a county news release.
There are three parts to the station:
▪ sensors that measure ozone levels and particle pollution;
▪ weather data collectors;
▪ solar “flower” that powers the station.
A Smartflower can produce anywhere from 4,000 to over 6,500 kilowatt hours of energy per year — 40% more than fixed solar panels, according to Smartflower’s website.
Officials hope the station helps teach the community about an “invisible problem.”
“This project helps make air pollution and air monitoring more visible and relevant to the public,” Robin Barrows of the NC Division of Air Quality said.
The unveiling came a day after the American Lung Association released its 2022 Air Quality Report, which gave Mecklenburg County an F for ozone pollution and a B for particle pollution. The air in Charlotte ranks as the second-worst polluted in the Southeast, according to the report.
Regardless of the grades, Mecklenburg is meeting all the Environmental Protection Agency’s health-based standards, according to Megan Green, the county’s air quality program manager.
Cleaner air in Mecklenburg could be on the horizon as the the station further educates the community about air pollution, according to county commissioner Elaine Powell, chair of the Environmental Stewardship Committee.
“I can envision students having class here at the park to learn about air pollution or budding scientists from neighboring UNC Charlotte doing a deeper dive into the air quality monitoring equipment,” she said.
The park, at the corner of Brevard and Seventh streets, will host Earth Day festivities on Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This story was originally published April 23, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
