Westmoreland County Airport Authority members on Tuesday authorized an Arizona-based energy company to proceed with plans for a scaled-back project to install a solar farm at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity.
It’s a project officials said will provide power for an expanded passenger terminal and potentially could generate additional revenue over the next two decades.
The $4.4 million proposal is a significant departure from an initial project unveiled in February to install solar panels at both the Palmer airport and the county’s smaller airport in Rostraver. That $30 million project also included installation of solar panel canopies covering more than 600 paid parking spots at the Palmer airport.
A smaller proposal was pitched in March that limited the solar panel canopy installation for just the 138 parking spots at Palmer airport. That option was tabled after board members learned the authority could incur nonrefundable costs, up to $10,000 annually, associated with borrowing of money to pay for the $4 million project.
Veregy senior account manager Mitch Dexter on Tuesday proposed another revised $4.4 million plan to install traditional ground-based solar panels on airport property that he said would provide up to 95% of the current airport terminal’s power needs.
“We anticipate this will generate about $1.5 million in additional revenue (for the authority) over 20 years,” Dexter said. The project, he said, could produce 150% more power than envisioned by the installation of solar canopies.
That plan was unanimously approved Tuesday by the nine-member authority board.
Veregy’s initial pitches required the authority to pay for initial engineering and planning.
No outlay of funds will be needed to pay for the early planning of the scaled-back proposed solar farm, Dexter said.
The authority will need to come up with the money, likely through borrowing, to install the solar panels once the final project plans are completed and permitting is approved.
As part of the plan, the authority will seek about $1.6 million in federal subsidies for the proposed solar farm, officials said.
Authority board chairman Paul Whittaker declined to discuss the project following Tuesday’s public meeting, saying only, “I voted for it.”