SPRINGFIELD, IL — Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield Illinois held a ribbon cutting
ceremony to celebrate the operational start-up of their $6 million installation of solar arrays at the Airport.
Six arrays spanning across three sites provide electrical power that offsets over 90% of the electrical cost
of three Airport and three tenant accounts.
Tom Cleveland, president of IPAA, presented Mark Hanna, Springfield Airport Authority Executive
Director, with the first ever Sustainability Award for the solar array operations and energy savings the
airport has realized through this endeavor. Also, Zack Kearnan, co-founder of Balance Solar, presented
a check for $1,280,00013, the portion of the project cost that Balance Solar contributed to the project.
Veregy collaborated with Springfield Airport Authority, owner and operator of Abraham Lincoln Capital
Airport, to design and build an energy saving project that significantly reduces the airport’s operating
budget. Veregy oversaw the construction of the solar array that saves nearly $350,000 annually. The
three airport accounts are net metered by a combination of roof and ground mounted solar arrays. The
other three ground mounted arrays provide a net metering solution for Standard Aero, one of the airport’s
tenants and generates over 4,000,000 kWh annually. The airport owns the entire system and provides
energy to the tenant through a modification to its lease agreement. The savings are equivalent to
greenhouse gas emissions from 8 million vehicle miles driven or 7,500 barrels of oil consumed each year.
Also, Veregy provides all ongoing monitoring and maintenance for the solar arrays.
Veregy worked extensively to secure the Illinois Block Grant program’s solar renewable energy credits
(SRECs) for project funding along with a PPA from Balance Solar that combined, provides $3.5 million
to cover over half of the overall project cost.
This project capitalizes on efforts that the Airport completed with the FAA previously in anticipation of a
solar farm that would have provided power direct into the utility grid. Now those FAA approvals are utilized
in a Net Metering solution for increased revenue and budgetary savings. This project is the largest airport
owned solar array for Net Metering in the state of Illinois providing an anticipated savings of $14.1M over
a 30-year timeframe.
Mark Hanna, Executive Director of the Airport states “This solar project will satisfy our goals and
objectives to provide our facility with a significant new revenue source, environmentally friendly and
sustainability attributes while deepening our relationships with our tenants and community stakeholders.”
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) continues to show its dedication to the environment and tenants
by providing a solution that not only reduces operating budgets and creates revenue but also provides a
renewable energy solution.
About Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, IL serves Central Illinois communities. The Airport was named the
2020 Primary Airport of the Year by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The airport is home to major tenants
including the Illinois Air National Guard’s 183rd Wing, IDOT’s Division of Aeronautics, Lincoln Land Community
College’s LRS Aviation Maintenance Training Center, StandardAero, Illinois Army National Guard, and Stellar
Aviation. Commercial passenger air service offerings feature daily service to Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport on
American Airlines and to Ft. Myers/Punta Gorda on Allegiant. For more information visit www.FlySPI.com or call
the Passenger Service Center at 217-788-9200.
About Veregy
Veregy utilizes Guaranteed Performance Contracting to provide outstanding energy-saving solutions that exceed
expectations in funds saved and long-term sustainability. Veregy’s team-oriented approach leads to highly
successful results and long-term relationships built on trust and respect. Clients can count on Veregy's team for
Facility Master Planning & Execution, including energy-efficient infrastructure upgrades, ad hoc building
maintenance projects, and day-to-day facility monitoring in mechanical, electrical, plumbing, solar, EV, battery
storage, geothermal, microgrid and customizable building control systems.