The Metropolitan Nashville Airport (MNAA) was named one of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) 2017 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award winners in the Pursuit of Excellence category for its ongoing commitment to sustainability. The award was presented at a recent luncheon with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau.
MNAA was recognized for a geothermal lake plate cooling system, which is the largest of its kind in North America, and its compressed natural gas (CNG) program that has converted the entire shuttle fleet to be CNG-powered. MNAA also recently opened a new CNG fueling station at Nashville International Airport (BNA) to support the fleet.
“We are truly honored to receive our second Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award,” said Rob Wigington, MNAA president and CEO. “This recognition from TDEC underscores our organization-wide commitment to sustainability and the benefits that flow from that approach. We are proud of everyone throughout the MNAA team who creates and implements our array of sustainability initiatives and appreciate the value not just to our airports, but across the region and the environment in which we live.”
The Pursuit of Excellence category recognizes past award winners who continue to demonstrate a high regard for environmental stewardship practices. MNAA previously won the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in 2015 for its overall sustainable performance.
Geothermal Lake Plate Cooling System
Completed in 2016, MNAA’s geothermal lake plate cooling system takes advantage of 1.5 billion gallons of naturally-cool water in a former rock quarry and circulates it through a closed looped piping system to the airport terminal's central plant. Waste heat is dissipated through heat exchangers submerged within the quarry. The system provides cooling for the entire 900,000-sq. ft. terminal. The project reduces electricity usage by 6,000 kilowatts of peak demand and results in annual savings of 1.3 million kilowatt-hours and 30 million gallons of potable water, and $430,000 in savings each year.
Compressed Natural Gas
In 2017, MNAA introduced a new fleet of 28 environmentally friendly parking shuttle busses at BNA. The new busses, which transport travelers between the parking lots at BNA and the terminal, are fueled by clean-burning compressed natural gas. The conversion from diesel fuel to cleaner burning CNG across the airport's shuttle bus fleet is anticipated to reduce the bus fleet's greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 14 percent. MNAA is currently in the process of transitioning other company vehicles to CNG-fueled as well.
In recent years, MNAA has received a number of awards and recognitions for its innovative commitment to sustainability and environmental preservation, including:
- 2017 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Pursuit of Excellence, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
- 2017 Sustainable Transportation Award, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
- 2017 Envision Silver Award, from Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure
- 2017 Engineering Excellence Grand Award, American Council of Engineering Companies
- 2016 Infrastructure Game Changer, American Society of Civil Engineers
- 2016 Environmental Achievement Award Special/Innovative Projects award, Airports Council International – North America
- 2016 Airports Going Green Award, Airports Going Green and American Association of Airport Executives
- 2016 Airports Going Green Award, Outstanding Leadership in Pursuit of Sustainability, Airports Going Green and American Association of Airport Executives
- 2015 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Sustainable Performance – Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
