Cities Looking for a Place for Solar Farms Find Places at Airports

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“The government is promoting the development of renewable energy such as solar and wind through tax credits and accelerated depreciation,” said Miriam S. Wrobel, senior director of FTI Consulting in San Francisco. “Often, public entities such as airports cannot enjoy tax benefits, so third parties own the assets and sell the generated energy to the airport.”

Prices are locked for 20 to 25 years, but the owner only gets paid while the energy is flowing.

The winner of the tender for the Tallahassee project Origis Energyis a Miami company that offers clean energy storage solutions. Johan Vanhee, Origis’ chief commercial officer, said the airport project is an outlet for the company. “We are a wholesale producer of renewable energy,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of our facilities are not in airports.”

But experts say falling prices of solar modules and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated 25 billion dollars to airports can change the percentage.

David J. Feldman, a senior financial analyst for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a Washington research center, said ten years ago that a module alone cost about $2.50 per watt, and now the entire grid-scale photovoltaic system costs about $2.50 per watt. Said it was about $1 per head. Golden, Col. based and funded by the Department of Energy.

“Solar energy costs have dropped significantly over the past decade,” said Alicen Kandt, senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “It becomes attractive in areas that seem less than ideal.”

One of the places that is overlooked is Maine. A proposed solar project for the Augusta State Airport It is expected to provide 7.5 megawatts of capacity, all back to the grid.

“Open space, no danger to anyone, it’s owned by the state and helps taxpayers and the environment,” said Paul Merrill, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation. 20 years.

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