Ribbon Cutting - Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority SOLAR FIELD

Date: 2/8/2012
Time: 11:00 AM TO 12:00 PM

Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority
278 Doug Warpoole Road
Smyrna, TN 37167

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Event Description: Smyrna Airport Commissions Solar Farm
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to be held Feb. 8

The Smyrna / Rutherford County Airport Authority is proud to announce the completion of a one megawatt solar farm at Smyrna Airport. The project is a partnership between the Airport Authority and Soltas Smyrna, LLC and is a part of the TVA Generation Partners Program. TVA buys the renewable generation from the distributor for its Green Power Switch program.

“This project is right for the airport, right for the community and complements our airport sustainability program,” commented Airport Authority Chairman Mike Woods. “The clean energy produced has a tremendous benefit.”

The solar farm sits on six acres of property on the east side of the airport and includes over 3000 photovoltaic panels. The DC power generated by the solar power station is converted to AC by two SGI 500 kilowatt inverters. Soltas’s local solar construction vendor for the project was Choice Solar Solutions of Nashville.

"Soltas Energy was able to provide our end to end solution where we pay for, own and operate the Solar Power Plant and provide clean reliable solar power for 40 years, said Andrew B. Worden, CEO of Soltas Energy Corporation. “The airport presented a special challenge requiring low glare from the panels, and the anti-reflective coating coupled with high power output and 40 year design life from the 295Wp CNPV module made the selection of CNPV modules an obvious choice."

“We are happy to bring such a large-scale solar system to completion in Tennessee, where we hope to see continued growth in the clean energy space while helping to increase employment in our home state,” said Chris Dickinson of Choice Solar Solutions.

Smyrna Airport Executive Director John Black sees this project as a stable platform for economic growth through the benefits of business diversification and long lasting technology that enhances the Airport Business Park. “This is one of only two major airport solar projects in the state of Tennessee, and we are excited to be at the forefront of this endeavor,” said Black.

On Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 11 a.m., the Airport Authority will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new solar facility, located at 688 Fitzhugh Boulevard in Smyrna.


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