Pray, what does Shakespeare have to do with protecting the climate?
For the past two years, my daughter and I have been delighted and moved by high-quality outdoor local productions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night in Santa Rosa’s Historic Railroad Square’s Cannery. This summer, Shakespeare in the Cannery presents the 2016 season with Macbeth from July 1st-23rd and then, the World Premiere of The Plot Against Shakespeare from August 12th-27th.
Behind the scenes, the entire production is powered by sun and wind because of John Brodt and his ‘power-full’ mobile trailer. The Cannery is “off-grid,” meaning that there is no connection to PG&E’s electrical distribution system.
Here are the technical specifications of this efficient and versatile system:
Trailer Setup
Brodt’s Reeds trailer hefts up to 5,500 lbs and boasts eight solar panels that each produce 340 watts of electrical power. With six permanently mounted panels and two satellite panels deployed once positioned, the overall power production is 2,720 watts during sunshine hours. Its 
windmill can produce up to 250 watts of additional power.
Battery Storage
Energy is stored in 20 Thomas Edison nickel iron batteries. These batteries are bulky, but can take a lot of punishment, and can be fully depleted without harming the batteries. They hold a total capacity of 28KW/hrs of potential electricity, and can last for 50 years.
Energy Production
The DC power generated by the solar panels is converted to AC alternating current by two Snyder 4,000 watt 240 volt split phase inverters tied together in parallel for a total maximum combined power output if needed of 8,000 watts.
Mobility
It is very easy to deploy, because it has gas-filled small struts that allow the panels to pop up and lock out to stay in position. In total, it takes about 20 minutes for the solar and about 10 minutes to set up the 
windmill.
I asked John about the Energy trailer’s year-round use: “I don’t rent it year around. The trailer is capable of tying into PG&E’s grid and feeding power to it. I mostly use it at my parents’ small ranch to feed power back to the grid during down times to lower electric bills.”
I asked our Solar Energy Program Coordinator, Geoffrey Smith what he thinks about the trailer as a solution for public outdoor events for our community: “This public demonstration of the power of solar is a great public education tool. We encourage play-goers who are curious about rooftop solar to contact me to learn about how to make it happen on their own home.”
To get in touch with Geoffrey, call him at 707.654.4350 or visit www.solarsonomacounty.org/GoSolar.
Going solar is one of the most important and economical actions you can take to reduce greenhouse gases in your home or business.
Click here to get your tickets for an outdoor sustainable Shakespeare experience today!
