Solar Spotlight: Sunny Centrals Pilot “Hometown” PV System at Sacramento International Airport

In an effort to advance its commitment to sustainability and renewable energy, the Sacramento International Airport (SMF), which saw 10.9 million passengers travel through last year, recently installed a new PV system.

The 7.9 MW project at SMF, which uses SMA inverters, consists of two sites: A 15-acre plot near the airport’s economy parking lot, and a 20-acre location north of the runway.

SMA is particularly proud to be part of this project since its U.S. headquarters operates in the Sacramento region, and this is the company’s hometown airport.

In total, the system uses two Sunny Central 2200-US inverters integrated with a Medium-Voltage Block, and three Sunny Central 800 CP-US inverters. SMA’s Sunny Central inverters, seamlessly integrated with the MV block, deliver robust power production and reliable performance.

Borrego Solar, a top commercial solar company that specializes in designing and constructing solar and energy storage projects, constructed the project with financing from NRG, which will own and operate the facility. NRG will sell electricity to SMF under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The airport will save approximately $850,000 per year over the 25-year PPA, with the system offsetting 30% of SMF’s electricity use. This is also a significant effort in helping the airport achieve environmental leadership in the region.

The project was completed and commissioned in December 2017.