Northeast Philly Airport could go solar

Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which primarily services private aircraft, plans to go solar.

A bill currently pending before City Council would authorize the city to enter into an agreement with the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) to buy power from a 1.5-megawatt solar array to be built at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which the city owns.

The project would provide roughly enough power to cover the airport’s electricity needs, said PEA President and CEO Emily Schapira. A separate company, Solaer, would build, own and operate the project.

Big enough to power around 350 rowhomes, it would be one of the larger commercial solar projects in the city, Schapira said.

“It’s raised some interesting questions with PECO and how they do interconnection. So I think what ends up coming out of this process will help all commercial solar projects in Philly,” she said. “There’s a lot of value to it for that reason.”