noel mo to kansas city international airport

It also would be a major lure for young tech workers looking to relocate to an affordable and sustainable community, Platt said.Ĭhuck Caisley, chief customer officer at Evergy, said, “We are always open to partnering opportunities for economic development and renewables in Kansas City.”Įvergy would probably prefer to develop the solar farm itself and add the asset to its rate base, which is used to calculate consumer power bills.Īlternatively, a third party could develop the solar facility and sell it to Evergy or sell its solar power to Evergy. The panels would be to the west and south of runways on vast swaths of land currently sitting idle.Ī new $1.5 billion terminal is being built at KCI that, alongside a major renewable energy project, would make the airport an important gateway to the region.

The project would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take up to four years to build. Kansas City-based Evergy, as well as solar developers around the nation, could be interested in developing the project, particularly if Congress in coming days passes the Biden Administration’s infrastructure package, which includes hundreds of billions of dollars of incentives for renewable energy, Platt said. NREL is managed by MRIGlobal, a long-time fixture near the Country Club Plaza. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. It is already moving to secure the help of the U.S. KCI in one fell swoop would install 10 times that capacity.Ĭity officials hope to get the project moving in 2022Ĭity officials will study its options in coming months and be ready to issue a request for proposals in 2022. It is currently expanding its solar capacity to 34 megawatts. DIA was one of the first airports to install solar power back in 2008, with the panels proudly arrayed on the roadway approaching its soaring tent-like terminal. To provide an idea of the scope of the city’s plan, consider Denver International Airport. “It enhances, absolutely, our attractiveness in lots of ways,” Platt said. It also could make the city an even more compelling site as it courts new companies to the city, he said. Such an effort would provide a strong boost to city efforts to land World Cup soccer games in 2026 because FIFA strongly weighs a community’s sustainability efforts in its site evaluation process, Platt said. Department of Energy about its vision for KCI solar. Mayor Quinton Lucas and Platt traveled to Washington recently to brief the area’s congressional representatives and the U.S.

Noel mo to kansas city international airport