Solar Power Returns to Airport, Will Cover 22% of Terminal Energy

The Gainesville Sun

Solar power has returned to the Gainesville Regional Airport after more than 25 years.

Airport officials held a “flip-the-switch” ceremony Tuesday morning to mark the new 292-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array on top of the passenger terminal building and rental car wash facility. The array is expected to generate about 22 percent of the terminal’s energy.

The airport was built in 1979 during an energy crisis with solar panels to provide hot water for space heating, an air-conditioning chiller and water heating systems.

Former Gainesville Mayor Tom Bussing said the system operated for seven years, but the airport replaced it with a conventional heating and air-conditioning system because not all areas of the terminal were cooled.