1. Taos, New Mexico's KTAO Radio Station
Billed as the largest solar powered radio station in the country, KTAO – based out of Taos, New Mexico – has been converting sunshine into 100,000 watts of radio waves via 140 photovoltaic panels since 1991. Conscientious consumers from here to Timbuktu can access their special brand of eco-tastic tunes thanks to the convenience of the internet, but if you live in the west, you can also catch their auditory waves as far as 40 miles from Southern Colorado to Espanola, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, and communities in between. Playing an eclectic mix of reggae, world folk, Celtic and rock, the radio station is also the brainchild of the upcoming Taos Solar Music Festival (June 26-27) and even rents out their solar center to the public for parties and other special events.
2. Hoopa, California's KIDE Radio Station
The Hoopa Valley Tribe’s California-based radio station, KIDE, is not only the very first to be owned by Native American Indians – it also happens to be powered by solar panels. Broadcasting from the 12 mile Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation – home to the very same indigenous people who have lived on the land for well over 10,000 years – the intent of the radio station is to educate the public on their self-sustainability traditions while also offering a diverse range of programming that entertains, informs and touches on the latest breaking news of the day.
3) Fairfield, Iowa's KRUU-LP Radio Station
Grassroots community radio station KRUU-LP, 100.1 FM, is hitting the airwaves from the middle of corn country (or Fairfield, Iowa to be exact) with a modest solar powered system which covers approximately 25% of their energy requirements. Their website details their solar electric system as follows: 24 Photocomm solar panels each rated at 65 Watts for a total rated capacity of 1.6kW, 2 arrays, each holding 12 adjustable solar panels, 1 Trace 4kW inverter, and 10 Interstate GR12-140 12-volt gel cell batteries with a total rated capacity of 700 amp hours installed in a 24 volt configuration. If you’re curious to hear what kind of auditory vibe they generate, they also stream from the internet at www.kruufm.com.
4) San Francisco, California's KGO Newstalk AM 810
For the last several years, San Francisco-based news talk radio station KGO Newstalk AM 810 has been generating 7,300 watts or 20 kilowatts of green power for their broadcast facility via three concentrated mirror and lens photovoltaic silicon based solar arrays. Taking the plunge into green power was considered to be a natural transition for the station, which has added green programming initiatives and internal recycling projects to their daily list of earth-friendly commitments. KGO is also planning to replace their three-tower lamp beacons with LEDs and install a more efficient air conditioning system among other green efforts.
5) Clinton, Tennessee’s WYSH 1380 AM Radio Station
Clinton, Tennessee’s country hits station, WYSH 1380 AM, meets approximately 60% of their electricity needs by powering their studios with 8 kilowatts of green power via 36 rooftop-installed photovoltaic solar panels. Installed by Efficient Energy of Tennessee, the $80,000 project is just one of several eco-friendly efforts that WYSH has taken, including an energy audit and the installation of energy efficient air and heating systems.
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