Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A huge solar power development at the Twin Cities airport is proposed to get even bigger.


A Metropolitan Airports Commission panel has given preliminary approval to a 1.3 megawatt solar installation on top of the parking ramp at Terminal 2. It is expected to provide about half the terminal's peak power need.


That's in addition to a 3 megawatt installation at Terminal 1. Together, they're nearly twice the size of the largest existing solar project in Minnesota. 

Future of Minnesota solar energy: What you need to know

"The airport's been very progressive and very thoughtful about how they've approached this," said Mark Andrew, founder of Greenmark, the company that helped arrange the deal with the airport and a solar power developer. "They've taken a financial perspective first and foremost, and then an environmental perspective, and they're going to win on both counts, because this is going to actually make money for the airport over time."

The new project will cost about $12 million, and will include retrofitting the Terminal 2 parking structure with LED lights, to help reduce power consumption.


The first phase of the project, at the main terminal, is expected to come online by November.

Business and Economic News

Environmental News

Minnesota News

Twin Cities News

NewsPartners

Tim Nelson

Author

Combined, the installations at Terminals 1 and 2 will be nearly twice the size of the largest existing solar project in Minnesota.

MSP airport solar installation poised to grow

Go Deeper.

Like this?