Denver International Airport seeks committee approval for 18‑megawatt, 90‑acre solar lease and power purchase agreement

Denver International Airport officials asked the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the Denver City Council to approve two connected 25‑year contracts — a land lease and a power purchase agreement — to build an approximately 18‑megawatt ground‑mounted solar array on about 90 acres on the airport’s north side.

Phil Washington, CEO of Denver International Airport, introduced the request. Scott Morrissey, senior vice president for sustainability, told the committee "this particular project ... is an 18 megawatt, PV system," and said the array is projected to generate about 31,000,000 kilowatt‑hours of electricity and produce an indexed price that is roughly a 17.5% reduction per kilowatt‑hour compared with the comparable Xcel Energy tariff.

The project would be sited adjacent to existing airport solar installations on the north side of the airfield. Morrissey said the site is outside the airport’s security fence and therefore not inside the secured airfield operations area. He told councilmembers the airport uses FAA‑recommended glare analysis tools to select locations that avoid operational impacts. The lease and power purchase agreement are both 25 years; the airport described the PPA business model as developer‑financed and maintained, with no…