The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in Chattanooga, Tennessee has become the USA’s first airport to generate all of the power it needs to operate through a solar farm. The development was completed last month.
The 48,562.3 m2, 2.64-megawatt solar installation is made up of 10,000 panels. It is located on the outskirts of the airport. Afar reports that construction of the solar farm began in 2011. The solar farm now supplies all the airport’s energy needs.
Grants made by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration made the installation possible, reports Afar.
These grants are given to assist airports in improving air quality and reducing emissions.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport is the first in the United States to be completely solar powered, but it is not the first in the world.
India’s Cochin International Airport in the southern state of Kerala was the first to implement this practice. Cochin relies completely on solar power, with a 12-megawatt solar plant that has over 46,000 solar plant, according to the BBC.
Chattanooga’s solar initiative is part of a much bigger picture. The city has been working for over 40 years to become one of America’s cleanest cities, when it used to be one of the most polluted.
According to Afar, the airport sells electricity generated by the panels to the regional utility grid. Then the airport purchases a portion of the renewable power back to supply its energy needs.
Image: Twitter @WendyPorter45
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