Skip navigation to main content.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)NREL HomeInnovation for Our Energy Future
About NRELScience and TechnologyTechnology TransferApplying TechnologyLearning About Renewables
Photographic Information Exchange

Photovoltaic/Hybrid Power System at the Dangling Rope Marina on Lake Powell in Utah - 1999

This collection features photos of a photovoltaic (PV)/hybrid power system at the Dangling Rope Marina on Lake Powell in Utah. The Dangling Rope Marina PV / hybrid power system, designed and installed by Applied Power Corporation, is the largest solar energy system in the National Park Service and it is estimated to save over $2.3 million in fuel and maintenance cost over a 20-year period.

For additional photographs, search on the following terms in PIX text search: dangling rope.

PIX  07963 #07963 - In 1996, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Superintendent Joseph E. Alston flipped a switch, culminating a four year $1.5 million effort to replace diesel fired generation with a state-of-the art 115 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) hybrid energy system for the Dangling Rope Marina on Lake Powell, located in the remote Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. In 1998, Applied Power added another 45 kilowatts (kW) of photovoltaics to the site. Photo by Warren Gretz.

PIX 07971 #07971 - Each year two million visitors stop at Dangling Rope Marina, the only facility in a 90-mile stretch on Lake Powell. Dangling Rope, accessible only by water, once depended on diesel generators to supply electricity for the marina, convenience store, ranger station, and personnel housing. These noisy generators consumed 65,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year. Rangers made fuel deliveries 35 times per year, traveling 40 miles each way and posing considerable risk of an oil spill in the pristine Lake Powell Photo by Warren Gretz.

PIX 07986 #07986 - Battery storage at the Dangling Rope Marina, Lake Powell, Utah: Despite the remote location of the project site, the entire Dangling Rope Marina PV / hybrid power system was installed, tested and commissioned by Applied Power on schedule and within budget. System operation and maintenance training, crucial to the overall success of the project, was provided for NPS personnel by Applied Power. Photo by Warren Gretz.

PIX 07988 #07988 - Sunset at Dangling Rope Marina, Lake Powell Utah: The Dangling Rope marina PV / hybrid power system, designed and installed by Applied Power Corporation (APC) is the largest solar energy system in the National Park Service (NPS) and it is estimated to save over $2.3 million in fuel and maintenance costs over a 20-year period. "Not only will the solar system lower the cost of providing electricity for the Dangling Rope Marina, but the system will be clean, quiet and dependable," said Utah Office of Energy and Resource Planning Director Jeff Burks. "Moreover, it will eliminate the risk of a diesel fuel spill on Lake Powell." Photo by Warren Gretz.

PIX 07990 #07990 - Unique to this project is the introduction of a new generation of hybrid power processing equipment. This new technology, combined with the declining cost of PV, contribute to an expanding market for large-scale PV hybrid power systems. Photo by Warren Gretz.

PIX 07999 #07999 - National Park Service living quarters at Dangling Rope Marina at Lake Powell, Utah. All electricity is provided by the PV panels seen in the forground. Photo by Warren Gretz

PIX 08000 #08000 - Despite the remote location of the project site, the entire Dangling Rope Marina PV / hybrid power system was installed, tested and commissioned by Applied Power on schedule and within budget. System operation and maintenance training, crucial to the overall success of the project, was provided for NPS personnel by Applied Power. Photo by Warren Gretz

PIX 08005 #08005 - Hybrid PV system at Dangling Rope Marina at Lake Powell, Utah. Photo by Warren Gretz.

PIX 08014 #08014 - Unique to this project is the introduction of a new generation of hybrid power processing equipment. This new technology, combined with the declining cost of PV, contribute to an expanding market for large-scale PV hybrid power systems. Photo by Warren Gretz

PIX 08033 #08033 - Sunrise over the PV panels at Dangling Rope Marina at Lake Powell, Utah. Photo by Warren Gretz

Please email the PIX Webmaster with any questions.