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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indianapolis Airport Authority plans to spend nearly $47 million to add solar panels to surface parking lot near the main terminal at Indianapolis International Airport.
The project, which would see the construction of a new solar-covered canopy over a portion of an undisclosed parking lot south of the airport’s parking garage, is expected to generate about 10% of the terminal’s total energy needs. The effort is part of the airport authority’s larger focus on sustainability initiatives.
It is unclear whether the project would be constructed over the park-and-walk lot or the economy lot at the airport, or the cellphone lot nearby. The lot would still be used because vehicles would be able to park beneath the canopy. The Indianapolis Airport Authority declined comment ahead of a vote on the measure.
The authority’s board is scheduled to consider funding for the project during its monthly meeting on Friday, with about 85% of the costs expected to be covered by grants and programs offered by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. About $7 million, or 15%, is expected to be covered through debt service taken on by the authority.
“The Indianapolis Airport Authority is committed to sustainability and resilience,” Jarod Klaas, senior director of planning and development for the authority, said in a memo to the board. “Our objective is to create public value while minimizing our impact on the environment and community, recognizing that these impacts can degrade the essential resources we all rely on. The reliability and fragility of electric power systems, particularly those that serve airports, highlight the need for resilient airport systems.”
Klaas said the authority has been “prudently pursuing” ways to improve the resilience of its power supply and decided on the canopy as a method to be less reliant on the standard power grid.
The project will consist of the solar panel canopy, battery energy storage and controls to disperse the stored electricity, which is expected to amount to 2,543,000 kilowatt hours annually.
The cost of the project includes a total contract amount of $38.2 million, a $4 million owners contingency, $3.5 million for design and reconstruction, and $1 million for inspections, testing and management, for a total cost of $46.7 million. Messer Construction has been contracted to complete construction of the canopy.
Multiple solar farms have been developed on airport land over the years, with the electricity sold to AES Indiana.
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Spend 47 million taxpayer dollars to save how much money on 10% of total electric usage? How long will it take to “recoup” this 47 million back before it starts actually saving money? What is the lifespan of these solar panels?
10 yrs maybe
Solar panels have useful life of 25-30 years, although some may choose to update sooner than that as technology changes.
I love this idea.
Smart. All but $7m covered by grants and credits. Airport will be able to increase parking revenue as the spaces will become covered. This is an investment that will generate returns for 20+ years. Or, keep paying the monopoly and absorbing the utility inflation and hoping to manage an unpredictable utility budget.
Shaded parking will definitely increase attractiveness of these lots to customers. These should do the same for the top floor of the parking garage(s).
Yes to both, and agree with Joe. The first solar field should have been done this way too.
I would pay more for a covered space. The car would not cook in the sun and it would be protected from hail, snow and ice. Sounds like a winner to me.
It doesn’t pay to go solar. By the time they break even, if ever, they will need to replace the panels.
Will you share your math? We’ve financed solar projects for years. We would not be in business if they did not perform.
The “anti” types tend to be folks who don’t believe in looking at the math. Instead, they saw a comment once on Facebook so they decided.
Solar is literally the cheapest form of electricity on the market.
Parallel universe math and science?
Please stop injecting your politics into math and science.
The IRS is involved? Why?
Solar credits
Excellent project. Probably to expensive but excellent none the less.
Proposing these over the parking lot seems league ahead of covering grass with them!
Grasses, pollinators and other plants are often put under panels to help prevent erosion and aid in water retention.