Dayton's first utility-scale solar array aligns with city's climate and energy goals

DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF) — A five-megawatt 25-acre solar array installation is to be built on an existing brownfield site in northeast Dayton.

The project will provide more than one-third of the electrical power needed to operate the nearby City of Dayton Miami Water Treatment Plant. The solar facility will repurpose a brownfield site that was formerly home to the Sherwin-Williams warehouse, which was destroyed by fire in 1987.

According to Meg Maloney, manager, office of sustainability with City of Dayton this project has so many benefits.

Maloney said it’s cutting down on the bills that the city has to pay on monthly electric bills, which are helping keep rates down for water rate payers. The City of Dayton provides water to the entire region.

“So we’re helping reduce our energy bills to help try and keep water rates low which is excellent,” Maloney said.

Maloney said in trying to think about redevelopment options, brownfield sites are notoriously hard to develop because they have previous contamination on them, and there’s certain limits on what can be developed on brownfield sites.

“Solar is like an excellent way to generate savings for the city, but also then re-utilize this site that I don’t think we could really use for anything else,” Maloney said.

The third thing Maloney pointed out was Dayton has been thoughtful about how we can ensure resiliency for our plants.

“So after the tornadoes hit, power was out across the region, and so being able to generate our own power is huge, because that way we can ensure that even if we have issues with electricity usage. We’ll be generating our own energy that will be connected to our plant, which is great and which helps with resiliency. So it’s a very exciting, it’s a very exciting project. It’s a huge win,” Maloney said.

The City of Dayton undertook a rigorous four-year evaluation and planning process beginning with a feasibility study to ensure the array would generate the desirable level of power capacity.

In September 2023, the city issued a bid request for solar contractors to enter into a power purchase agreement. IGS Energy (power production) and Kokosing (construction) were chosen.

The project aligns with Dayton’s climate emergency commitment to reduce carbon emissions at city facilities through renewable energy generation and will be Dayton’s first utility-scale solar array.

The solar array is expected to provide 38% of the Miami Water Treatment Plant’s electrical power needs.

Construction will begin in early 2026 and is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

The project is made possible by a solar power purchase agreement with IGS Energy approved by the Dayton City Commission on March 5.