270 solar panels installed on Naples Airport campus

There’s a new addition at Naples Airport — in fact, there are 270 newly installed solar panels.

The solar array is located atop a recently built warehouse storage building near the North Road Terminal and Fuel Farm on the airport campus. Once operational later this summer, the solar panels will daily produce about 100 kilowatts of AC-generating capacity, airport officials say.

“Naples Airport has been ‘going green’ for many years, and this solar installation is yet another example of how an airport can be good stewards to the environment while simultaneously making sound financial decisions,” Chris Rozansky, executive director for the Naples Airport Authority, says in a statement.

The solar panel project cost $249,665, according to a spokesperson, who says the projected payback period — how long it takes to recoup costs through energy savings and government rebates — is 5.7 years.

Among the Naples Airport’s recent sustainability initiatives are introducing alternative, cleaner-burning fuels; converting many ground vehicles and pieces of equipment from gas to electric; and authorizing construction and design of a new water management system that will filter water to remove impurities before runoff flows into the Gordon River and Naples Bay, according to a statement.

Miami-based PayOli Solar designed and installed the rooftop solar array, which will power the warehouse storage building. Michigan-headquartered Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., which has offices in Naples and Fort Myers, handled construction of the warehouse storage structure.

Naples Airport serves tenants including private and corporate aviation, air charter, aircraft maintenance and repair services, car rental brands and flight schools. It also houses the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Collier Mosquito Control District, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Fire Station 3 and Collier County EMS MedFlight. The airport is operated by the independent government agency Naples Airport Authority, which receives no tax dollars and is primarily funded through fuel sales, hangar rentals and other related services.