Sunbath

Abstract

The explosion of new technologies that emerged from the energy crises of the 1970s produced a number of forays into new forms of energy generation. This is the story of one project of this era that sought—maybe unconsciously—to invert the standard model, relocating energy production from an inscrutable position at the urban periphery to a highly legible, even participatory position at the urban center. The story of its inception, success, and eventual demise paints a picture of the US’s occasional but often short-lived flirtation with small-scale, zero-carbon renewable energy. Perhaps more importantly, it also offers a provocation for how small-scale, localized energy systems might become situated, legible, and participatory within urban areas.