Large solar farm planned for Philadelphia landmark

One of the best-known gardens in the Keystone State will soon be home to a massive solar plant.

Longwood Gardens, which is located just outside Philadelphia, will soon see construction on a large solar farm completed, according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer. The system, which comprises 6,682 solar panels, will generate about 18 percent of the garden's annual energy needs, and cost $7 million to build. In all, it's expected that the system will save the landmark about $64,000 in energy bills every year.

"Not only is it good for business but it's good for our community, and it's fulfilling our [environmental] mission," director Paul Redman told the newspaper.

And in an effort to keep the solar farm as beautiful as the rest of the facility, Longwood Gardens will begin planting grass and other plants around the panels after construction is completed, rather than see it covered with the typical gravel or asphalt, the report said.

Many public parks are now beginning to install solar panels on smaller scales in an effort to defray energy costs.