A solar panel installation is being built on the multi-story parking garage of the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport, Missouri.
Installed by local contractor Staco Electric Construction, the installation will make use of 510 330W solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, providing a total of 168.3kW of DC power, the equivalent amount of energy used by around 20 homes annually.
The new solar awning system will not only produce ongoing electricity for the terminal but also provide shade to the new garage during the hot summer months, further reducing energy costs. The modules are housed in aluminum frames with tempered glass surfaces for strength and durability, with the potential to last several decades. Each solar module has 96 monocrystalline silicon PV cells backed with a copper sheet, and are connected in series strings that do not exceed 1,000V DC. The DC electricity is then converted to clean, usable AC electricity by three 50kW inverters.
The solar panels have been supplied by Good Energy Solutions in Lawrence, Kansas.