The Philadelphia International Airport is now being powered by a Gettysburg solar panels on farmland 100 miles away in Gettysburg, writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Energix Renewables array, started nearly six year ago, began producing power in late March from  Adams County. Along with airport, it is providing up to 25 percent of the power consumed by Philadelphia’s 600 municipal buildings, including City Hall.

It is part of a city goal to power 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

“We’re feeling great about this project,” said Dominic McGraw, Philadelphia’s deputy director of energy services. “It’s been a long time coming. We’re very excited to move forward.”

The city is under contract to purchase 70 megawatts of power annually from the array.

The collection of 230,000 solar panels feeds to a substation that sends power to the regional grid, operated by PJM.  The power is then delivered to PECO territory for use in Philadelphia.

The city is contracted to buy solar-generated electricity for its municipal buildings at $4.50 per megawatt hour for 20 years from Energix Renewables. 

Read more about the Gettysburg solar panel boost for the airport and other city buildings in The Philadelphia Inquirer.