Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center breaks ground on solar array

A guest signs his name to a solar panel to commemorate the groundbreaking for the FAA's solar array farm at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. 

Oklahoma City’s second largest employer and a vital player in helping keep our nation’s air transportation system running smoothly and safely recently hosted a groundbreaking event for a federal project that, once completed, will begin saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars but also help make a positive impact on the environment.

The Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC), located on property next to Will Rogers World Airport, broke ground on a Federal Aviation Administration solar array project that will turn 6.65 acres just south of the MMAC building into the FAA’s largest solar panel farm to date, consisting of more than 3,800 panels that are expected to last between 25 to 30 years.

“Many people may not be aware that we have had a long, rich history of driving innovation and sustainability across the state and across the FAA,” MMAC Director Michelle Coppedge told a gathering made up FAA, state and city official such as OKC Mayor David Holt and staffers of the state’s congressional delegation, as well as local business and community leaders, including Greater Oklahoma City Chamber representatives.

“Our overall sustainability efforts include water conservation, recycling, harmonic filter projects, utilization of energy rebates for electric energy reductions, high-efficiency windows and lighting. And now, we are proud to add the establishment of a solar array system,” Coppedge said, noting that for the past seven consecutive years, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded the MMAC with its Sustainability Achievement Award.

DOT’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Phil McNamara, sent a recorded message for the occasion that Coppedge played for the crowd in which he commended the center for the significant work it has accomplished to date to make the MMAC campus more energy and water efficient. Those efforts fall in line with the presidential goal of reducing the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions by 65% and using 100% clean renewable energy in their buildings by 2030.

“I challenge you to go to the other FAA sites and show them how this can be done. Work with them to make their buildings more efficient and teach them how to use more clean energy,” he said.

This story originally appeared in the November 2022 edition of the VeloCity newsletter.