Keeping Dark Skies Dark
Arizona has long been a favourite spot for amateur and professional astronomers. To balance local interest in astronomy while ensuring employee safety, Rosemont will implement a technologically advanced lighting system.
- Our lighting plan was developed in consultation with an International Dark Sky Association board member and includes filtered LED fixtures, colour rendering to avoid blue-spectrum lights, and shielding/beam control on non-fixed lights to reduce direct uplight.
- During operations, light emissions will be monitored by Western Research Companies, an organization dedicated to understanding the effects of maintaining dark skies on astronomy and the environment.
- Rosemont will also provide $218,000 to establish the Smithsonian Institution sky brightness monitoring system at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins and an additional $100,000 per year for the life of the monitoring plan.
Solar Energy Proving Ground
Rosemont has partnered with the University of Arizona’s Research Institute for Solar Energy and awarded five $100,000 grants to renewable energy companies to install solar systems for testing at Rosemont’s Hidden Valley site. The output of each system is being measured to provide information on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the systems. Testing and energy production at this solar test site will continue throughout Rosemont’s operating life and be used to offset power consumption at the project’s administration building.