The first phase of the project, which was built during the Covid-19 pandemic, included the first 10,000 solar panels — The solar array visible off Interstate 376 is already a part of Pittsburgh International Airport’s world-leading microgrid that encompasses the power of natural gas and the sun and makes the airport immune to the kind of infrastructure failures that in March plagued Heathrow International Airport and, just Monday, much of Spain and Portugal.
But it’s about to get a whole lot bigger.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority, which owns the 20 acres of shuttered landfill the solar panels sit on, joined developer IMG Energy Solutions, a Liberty Energy Co., and Duquesne Light Co. in announcing it would add 11,216 solar panels to the existing 10,000 in an expansion that will more than double the amount of megawatts of solar energy going to the grid. When it goes online in 2027, the solar array will jump from its current 3 megawatt output to 7.7 megawatts.
Financial terms of the expansion weren’t disclosed. IMG Energy Solutions will build the panels and connect it to the existing system, and Duquesne Light will both put the power onto the regional grid and also sell it to PJM Interconnection. There is no cost to the Allegheny County Airport Authority.
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