Long Beach Airport celebrates Earth Day with unveiling of solar panel canopies
Long Beach Airport says the project will generate enough energy to meet 70% of the electricity required to power its facilities.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- This Earth Day, the Long Beach Airport is making a significant green milestone with the unveiling of its new solar panel canopies.
"As you know, we are an award-winning airport. And you know, this project is really something that just puts us in a position to move forward on our sustainability efforts," said Long Beach Airport Director Cynthia Guidry.
"Hundreds, if not thousands of individual panels all connected together to form one system. So, it is a lot of panels. It's not your average household rooftop installation," said Public Works Director Eric Lopez.
This project is just one of 11 solar panel installations in Long Beach. City leaders said this project is an innovative step to help combat climate change.
"So as the city transitions to a more climate-friendly and sustainable future, installations like these are so important at reducing our carbon footprint and ensuring that we're creating a better future for our youth," Lopez said.
Long Beach Airport said the project will generate enough energy to meet 70% of the electricity required to power its facilities and airfield.
"This project in total will generate 9 million kilowatt hours of power every single year. And that generates enough to power 70% of the operations here in our Long Beach Airport and about 900 homes across our city every year," said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.
"It's crucial that we continue to prioritize initiatives that not only benefit us now but leave a positive legacy for the future," said Long Beach Councilwoman Megan Kerr.
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