ICA LA launches Kickstarter to become first US museum fully solar-powered

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) has launched a Kickstarter campaign to become the first art museum in the United States to be entirely powered by solar energy. The museum aims to raise $25,000 to install 206 solar panels and 6 inverters across over 1,100 square meters of rooftop space. The total cost of the solar system is $156,000; the panels will generate 100,000 kWh annually, offsetting most of the museum's 130,000 kWh yearly consumption. ICA LA estimates the switch will save $30,000 per year in utility costs. The museum, originally founded in 1984 as the Santa Monica Museum of Art (SMMoA), reopened in 2017 in a new downtown Los Angeles space designed by wHY Architecture under Kulapat Yantrasast. It offers free admission and focuses on emerging art and contemporary culture. Deputy Director Samuel Vasquez stated that the museum felt obligated to make the change after seeing it was feasible, calling it a civic duty. The institution plans to implement additional energy-reduction policies.