Today’s paper
The Berkshire Eagle
Spanning nearly 18 acres, the solar panels generate electricity for both the airport and the city as a whole.
PITTSFIELD — Lights on.
Ten years after the project first went out to bid, local leaders are celebrating the completion of a solar panel installation at Pittsfield Municipal Airport intended to expand the city’s renewable energy sources and cut electricity costs.
Spanning nearly 18 acres in total, the solar panels generate electricity for both the airport and the city as a whole. The project has been spread out across three parcels of previously vacant land throughout the airport.
The grid has been up and running since the end of last year.
During a brief ceremony on Monday, Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti said the installation is projected to raise $3 million for the city over the next 20 years through taxes and lease payments.
“As we consistently assess city resources, examine the potential reuse of vacant municipal buildings, and implement new programs to save money, this project created a path for us to convert undeveloped land that was not providing any financial benefit to the city and the airport,” Marchetti said.
Now, he said, the property “will generate revenue for us through payments from ground leases, personal property and power generation.”
To install the panels, the city has leased vacant land around the airport to Navisun, a solar and energy storage company based in Hingham. In 2024, The Eagle reported that Navisun would pay the airport $2,229,052 to lease the land in a 40-year deal.
There was plenty of turbulence along the way. Construction, once expected to wrap up as early as 2019, was significantly delayed by changes to state solar programs, the pandemic and other issues.
At one point, Airport Commissioner Tom Hardy said, another commissioner informed then-Mayor Linda Tyer that the project “was probably dead.”
“However, through committed effort, we came back to life,” Hardy said. “There were further problems and delays, but we finally have our Earhart and Doolittle solar fields with battery storage.”
Airport manager Anita Akor said construction wrapped up in May 2025 and the panels have been generating electricity since December.
“Since we are moving towards solar, I think it’s a great opportunity to have an extra company to generate payment, to generate revenue for the airport and to the city,” she said.
Spanning nearly 18 acres, the solar panels generate electricity for both the airport and the city as a whole.
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