Solar panels to surround Dulles Airport will deliver power to 37,000 homes

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) — Travelers taking off and landing at Dulles International Airport outside the nation’s capital will soon see an array of 200,000 solar panels that comprise the largest renewable energy project ever built at a U.S. airport. Dominion Energy and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority ceremonially broke ground on the 835-acre project Tuesday. The solar farm is just a small part of a huge push by Dominion to add 16,000 megawatts of solar capacity by 2035. That’s enough to power 4 million homes. Rural counties, though, are pushing back against the solar expansion, as residents complain about the loss of farmland and scenic disruptions.