Stages Five and Six at <a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios, built in 1919, originally included clerestory windows so that film productions could be lit with natural light. Beginning in June, the stages will again be lit, at least partially, by the energy of the sun through a new solar power system that will be one of the largest of its kind in Hollywood.
<a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios has built two large solar power systems that will generate electricity for its 11 stages used to produce film, television and commercial productions. Together the systems, designed and built by Roseville, California-based Solar Power Inc., are expected to generate more than 350,000 kilowatt hours per year. That will help reduce the studios’ electricity bill and further its goal to be a “greener” operation.
“We hope to slow electrical consumption, especially during peak hours, and that could have a significant effect on our energy costs,” said <a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios Executive Vice President and COO Tim Mahoney. “Solar energy also appeals to the environmental concerns that we have—as well as many of the production companies that use our stages.”
More than 700 solar panels have been installed on the roofs covering Stages 10 and 11, the facility’s newest stages, and some 384 modules have been installed on the roofs of Stages Five and Six, the facility’s original stages. Design and construction of the system took more than a year. <a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios has plans to add similar systems to other stages and buildings.
“The rebate program has been a critical factor for many companies considering solar power,” explained Jeff Pontius, executive vice president of Solar Power Inc. “It would be unfortunate if that program were discontinued as solar energy benefits both companies and the environment.”
<a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios has been actively pursuing a number of initiatives to operate in a more environmentally friendly manner. It has an ongoing program to replace the thousands of incandescent light bulbs on the lot with low-power LED units. It also operates a recycling program that salvages tons of material that would be otherwise thrown away—everything from soda cans to large television sets.
Henry Rosales, <a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios‘ electrical foreman who oversaw much of the project, said that the studios’ effort to go solar has received a warm welcome. “The feedback from our staff and our clients has been 100 percent positive,” he said. “They are impressed that a 92-year-old studio can do something so progressive.”
About <a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios
<a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios is among the largest independently owned and operated productions studios in Hollywood. The studio features 11 full-service sound stages (silent air, audience rated), a dedicated green screen stage, a virtual set stage, and a variety of related services to support productions of all type and scope. The studios’ stages are in use every day in the production of television shows, feature films and commercials by leading studios and production companies from Hollywood and around the world.
<a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios has a long and distinguished history in pioneering new and innovative production technologies. It built one of the first sound stages in Hollywood where Howard Hughes’ Hell’s Angels and other early talkies were produced. Later, it was the chosen site of several early sitcoms including I Love Lucy and The Burns and Allen Show. More recently, Hollywood Center was among the first studios to layout a fiber optic backbone for broadband distribution throughout its facility Keeping pace with developing technologies, the studio now has robust wi-fi services available on all of the stages and in all of the common areas on the lot.
The studio has completed the conversion of all four of its multi-camera television production control rooms to HD format.
Founded in 1919, <a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios has been in continuous operation for more than 90 years and its history mirrors the development of the film and television industry itself. It has provided a home to scores of legendary filmmakers from Howard Hughes to Francis Ford Coppola, and hosted hundreds of memorable productions from such classics as I Love Lucy, Petticoat Junction and Mr. Ed to such current favorites as The Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life on Board.
<a href="www.hollywoodcenter.com.>Hollywood Center Studios is located at 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90038. For more information, call (323) 860-0000 or visit www.hollywoodcenter.com.
