Dulles International Airport is a sprawling complex that covers hundreds of acres of land. Senator Mark Warner says it's land that offers an opportunity.
"If we're going to make a transition to a cleaner energy mix, we've got to build stuff," he says.
Stuff like the largest renewable energy project ever developed at a U.S. airport, with solar panels and electric vehicles. Senator Warner helped shovel dirt to break ground on a project local leaders are hoping will be groundbreaking.
"The image that they now will see when they look out the window upon landing and see the solar panels that have been installed at this airport is exactly the type of forward image we want to make sure that the world sees but also that our residents here see," says Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay.
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Phyllis Randall says she hopes other airports across the county will take note.
"We can do it in Chicago. We can do it in LA. We can do it in Miami," says Randall. "This will be what starts the next generation of change for land that sits at airports."
When all those solar panels are up and operational, Dominion Energy expects they’ll power 37,000 homes and businesses by 2026.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
