Fresno Yosemite International Airport and WorldWater & Solar Technologies Corp. held a dedication ceremony in July 2009 in celebration of the opening of the largest solar airport installation to date in the U.S.

"The solar system will provide an impressive 40% of the power supply required to run the day to day needs of the airport such as lighting, air conditioning, controls and tower communications."
-- Russ Widmar, Aviation Director, Fresno Yosemite International Airport

According to Frank Smith, CEO of WorldWater & Solar Technologies the 2-megawatt, 9.5-acre, ground-mounted solar system is estimated to save the airport US $13 million dollars over the next 20 years.

Partners in this project include Sharp Solar, Xantrex Technology Inc. and Solar Power Partners (SPP). SPP will operate and manage the system and will oversee the sale of the solar generated power to the airport through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The PPA financing structure has enabled the airport to embrace solar energy without any capital expense. In addition, PG&E, the local electric utility will manage the net-metering connection with the grid.

"The solar system will provide an impressive 40% of the power supply required to run the day to day needs of the airport such as lighting, air conditioning, controls and tower communications," said Russ Widmar, Fresno's aviation director. "In addition, the solar installation has been constructed on land located near our runways that up until now was unusable."