Alcatraz is one of the world’s most famous prisons. Once a home to murderers and mobsters, Alcatraz is transforming itself into an eco-paradise.

Alcatraz shut it’s doors to prisoners in 1963 however hundreds of people still visit the prison, making it one of San Francisco’s top tourist attractions. All the tourists mean the former prison still has large energy needs, something which Alcatraz itself cannot provide. The facility’s fuel, water and waste is transported backwards and forwards every day across the bay.

The US Parks Service is now hoping to make Alcatraz self-sufficient to try and lessent the impact on the environment and to set an example for the rest of the country. This environmental drive is part of a wider initiative currently in action at the island to give it a facelift including revamping the audio tour and rennovating some of the buildings.

Fuel is shipped over to the island on a regular basis to provide power for the generators. Authorities are looking into the possibility of using wind, solar and tidal power in reduce or eliminate their need for fuel. Tidal power is something that is being looked at seriously by authorities across the San Francisco Bay - local utilities and officials have already announced they are doing a study into the tides within the bay to see if they can be successully used for power generation.

By 2008, a solar powered boat named the Solar Sailor should be in use to transport the tourists across to the island.

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