FAA Continues Solar/Wind Research ...

... as it prepares to issue additional guidance to industry by year’s end. During the recent ACC/FAA/TSA Summer Workshop Series held in Arlington, VA recently, FAA safety specialist Jim Patterson, Jr. outlined efforts by the agency to explore alternative energies and their application to U.S. airports. Based at the FAA’s Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, Patterson and his team have been researching solar and wind technologies for some six years. He relates that while technology is rapidly being developed for both, two key issues that remain are energy storage for solar and noise from wind turbines, which can interfere with radar. Patterson says that both solar and wind have a place in the future for airports, to the point that the technologies should be considered when performing master plan updates. Explains Patterson, “As I prepared for this conference, it started coming to me that limitations on the technology and siting issues are something that airports can work into their master plans to make them more sustainable. “If I had a favorite it’s probably solar just because we don’t have rotating blades that we have to hide from our radar facilities. There’s always that chance new technology will come out and wind turbines will become more airport-friendly. There’s always that chance.” In the meantime, Patterson says advancements with self-contained light-emitting diode (LED) solar-powered lighting have led FAA researchers to move from a focus on taxiways to runways. “Now we’re at the point where some of the manufacturers are creating self-contained units that are so powerful that they actually meet FAA standards for medium intensity runway lights,” he says. “Over the past few years we’ve seen the technology come a long way; it’s lending itself better to airfield applications.” FAA is developing a Solar Guidance Document with the assistance of consultant Harris Miller Miller & Hanson (HMMH). Patterson says it ultimately could take the form of an Advisory Circular. It will be a central reference document for airports interested in exploring solar energy, he explains, with baseline information on solar technology and applications. The document is targeted to be released by the end of 2010. (See more on the FAA’s initiative in the August issue of AIRPORT BUSINESS magazine.) Thanks for reading. jfi