Pittsburgh International Airport Becomes First Airport Completely Powered By Solar and Natural Gas - The Green Voice

During a ceremony on July 14, PIT officially switched on its microgrid, described in a press release as  an “independent electricity source that can operate autonomously while  maintaining a connection to the traditional grid.” The microgrid  consists of five generators, all fueled by natural gas drilled on-site  by CNX Resources, as well as 9,360 solar panels spread across eight  acres.

Besides lowering PIT’s dependence on carbon-causing fossil  fuels, the microgrid is also expected to significantly decrease energy  operational costs and allow the airport, which claims to serve nearly 10  million passengers annually on 17 carriers, to be more self-reliant.

“Our  region has innovation in its DNA, and the construction of this  microgrid reflects the work that has been done at the airport to  maximize public safety and sustainability,” says Allegheny County  Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “When you’re coming in for a landing and you  see this huge solar array, it sends a signal that the Pittsburgh region  is moving forward when it comes to sustainability, dealing with climate  change and dealing with resiliency.”

PIT claims that the microgrid  is capable of producing more than 20 megawatts of electricity and will  serve as the primary power supply for the entire airport, including the  terminals, airfield, Hyatt hotel, and Sunoco gas station. The airport’s  current peak demand is estimated at around 14 megawatts.

While planning the microgrid, officials estimated that the project would save PIT more than $500,000 in the first year alone.

The  microgrid was built and will be maintained and operated, by the energy  company Peoples Natural Gas at no cost to PIT. In exchange for building  the microgrid, the airport provided the land and agreed to buy its  electricity over the next 20 years.

The airport will also remain  connected to the traditional electrical grid as an option during an  emergency or if backup power is needed.

The microgrid did not  come easily, however. The project took two years to put together, with  crews starting construction in July 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19  pandemic when travelers were grounded and the aviation industry was  struggling.

                                           

                                        

The microgrid comes at a time when airports  across the United States have sought solutions after a number of outages  this year. PIT suffered an outage in May due to what it cited in a  tweet as “electrical testing” and emergency lights being activated.  Though the outage lasted about 12 minutes, it caused some delays for  passengers in the security line. Another outage followed in July, one  day before the microgrid was set to debut.  

But the outage issues  at PIT seem minor compared to other major airports across the country.  For example, Los Angeles International Airport saw a major loss of power  in 2019 that led to passengers being stranded after 50 flights were  canceled, according to CNBC. LAX then suffered another outage in 2020.

Seeing  the effect of power outages on LAX, as well as Atlanta’s  Hartsfield-Jackson, was a “main driver in deciding to build a microgrid  on airport property,” says Cassotis.

PIT stated that other major  U.S. airports have also started looking at microgrids, including LAX,  and Atlanta, as well as San Diego and Denver International Airport. A  microgrid is currently powering the TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK airport.

As  other airports, and the Federal Aviation Administration, continue to  explore ways to make flying more sustainable, PIT hopes that its new  microgrid will act as an inspiration.

"Pittsburgh International  Airport is now one of the most site-hardened public facilities in the  world while at the same time becoming more sustainable,” says Cassotis.  “That's a tribute to the innovative culture of our team, and we hope  this project can be a model across the industry.”