In late 2015, WGL Energy Systems (WGL Energy) announced that its solar projects in service had generated 147,000 MWh of power that year and included a solar farm developed for Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL) on 183 acres at Indianapolis International Airport (IND). As of early 2018, WGL Energy had over 260 MWh of distributed generation assets in 28 states. 

The IND Solar Farm is the largest solar farm on airport real estate in the world and is comprised of three phases. WGL Energy owns and operates Phase IIA, which is now generating 19.7 million kilowatt hours annually. This is equivalent to powering 1,586 average American homes for one year. Projects like the IND solar farm are core to WGL Energy's business of owning and operating renewable energy assets.

The IND Solar Farm is made possible through a partnership of several organizations, including Telamon Corporation, Johnson Melloh Solutions, the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), the City of Indianapolis, Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL), General Energy Solutions (GES), Cenergy Power and WGL Energy. 

These partners are helping to grow and diversify renewable sources of electricity to power the growth and development of Indianapolis. The farm’s 87,488 solar panels harvest energy from the sun and supply power to the electricity grid that serves the airport and the Indianapolis community. In its entirety, the solar farm is expected to generate more than 36.1 million kilowatt hours of solar energy annually, enough to power more than 3,650 average American homes. The solar energy produced will be sold to IPL through a 15-year power purchase program.

In addition to the power that will be generated, this project is providing economic and environmental benefits to the airport and the surrounding Indianapolis community. The entire project was funded through private investors, ensuring no local or state taxpayer funds were used for the construction of the solar farm. Private funding of energy projects is core to how WGL Energy delivers distributed generation solutions. Our solutions require no up-front funding, allowing airports, government agencies and large commercial and industrial organizations to preserve their critical public funding dollars. 

The IND Solar Farm also provided jobs for over 100 local laborers and is generating clean, emissions-free energy that helps improve air quality in the skies over the airport and in the region.

View our Distributed Generation solutions to learn more about our investments in alternative energy projects.