Springfield Airport Authority has broken ground on a $5.6m solar array project in Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois, the US.
The 2.88MW system will feature a mix of roof and ground-mounted solar arrays spanning three sites and annually generating around 4,000,000kWh.
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The project is anticipated to offset more than 90% of the current electrical requirements for three facilities situated in the north quadrant of the airport.
For this solar energy project, Springfield Airport Authority partnered with Veregy to design and oversee its construction.
This project is expected to provide operational savings to Airport Authority and StandardAero besides offering cost certainty for a significant portion of their electricity requirements even in the future.
The Springfield Airport Authority board of commissioners chair Frank Vala said: “The primary goal of this project has been to provide a renewable, affordable and reliable energy source that provides for long term cost certainty for one of our largest tenants, StandardAero.
“StandardAero is a significant local employer of highly skilled technicians and it is imperative we do all we can to support their efforts for growth and prosperity in our community. Projects like this demonstrate the Airport Authority’s sincere devotion to support our community’s economic development efforts that provide direct, valuable and meaningful benefits for those who have made significant commitments to our region.”
StandardAero offers major maintenance, repair and overhaul services for business aircraft.
Following completion, this project will be the largest airport-owned solar array for net-metering in Illinois. It is expected to offer savings to the tune of $14m over a three-decade period.
Ultimately, the Airport Authority will own the complete system and offer energy to tenants through related lease agreements.
This project is anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than seven million vehicle miles driven or 7,500 barrels of oil consumed annually.
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Image: For this solar energy project, Springfield Airport Authority partnered with Veregy to design and oversee its construction. Credit: David Mark from Pixabay.
