Navigating the Energy Transition: Challenges and Solutions for North American Airports

The energy transition has taken center stage across North America, with airports emerging as focal points for innovation and adaptation. As the transportation sector faces increasing pressure to decarbonize, airports find themselves at the intersection of technological advancements and evolving policy landscapes. 

The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Airport Consortium on Transformation (ACT), has released one of the first industry reports on the state of airports’ energy transition.

This research study delves into the challenges and opportunities that North American airports encounter in the midst of this energy transition, focusing on power reliability, growing energy needs, and decarbonization mandates.

“Airport energy needs are growing exponentially. The transition to electric fleets, both airside and landside, will place substantial strain on existing infrastructure if not planned properly,” Michael Christensen, P.E., C.M., Chief Operations & Maintenance Officer at Los Angeles World Airports noted in a press release, “This report emphasizes the need for airports, utilities, the private sector, and local governments to work together to invest in additional power sources that ensure our energy transition is successful and that our expansion and electrification needs are met.”

Challenges Faced by Airports:

1. Power Reliability and Quality:

• Outages: The vulnerability of airports to power outages has been underscored by incidents at major hubs like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Survey results reveal that 85% of airports experience at least one outage per year.
• Cost Unknown: Despite the common occurrence of outages, 8% of surveyed airports could quantify the cost of downtime, highlighting a critical gap in understanding the financial implications of power interruptions.
• Inadequate Backup: Approximately 38% of respondents reported insufficient backup power in crucial areas, emphasizing the need for enhanced resilience measures.

2. Growing Energy Needs:

• Traffic Surge: The rebound of passenger and cargo traffic after the pandemic has heightened energy demands. However, only 38% of airports had a clear estimate of the electricity required to accommodate this growth.
• Limited Visibility: A lack of comprehensive insights into real-time energy use, coupled with challenges in energy modeling and historical data for emerging technologies like electric vehicle (EV) charging, hindered accurate projections of future energy needs.
• Terminal Expansion: All surveyed airports anticipated substantial terminal expansions, projecting a threefold increase in power needs over the next five years.

3. Decarbonization and Electrification Mandates:

• Clean Energy Goals: A positive trend was observed with 92% of airports having clean energy goals, including electrifying fleets, adding solar, and phasing out fossil generation.
• Funding Challenges: Despite ambitious mandates, the study raised questions about the financial resources, projects, and strategies in place to translate clean energy ambitions into actionable projects.
• Tenant Mandates: Climate targets set by airlines, rental car agencies, logistics warehouses, and cargo carriers underscored the broader challenge of aligning diverse stakeholders in pursuit of sustainability.

The overarching backdrop to these challenges is the aging utility grids that airports heavily rely on for electricity. Increased outages, driven by extreme weather events, and a strained electricity supply-demand balance further complicate the energy landscape. This study highlights a pressing need for airports to address these challenges to ensure a seamless energy transition.

Solutions:

1. Comprehensive Capacity Planning:

• Assess Future Needs: Airports must conduct thorough studies to determine current and future energy needs, considering not only existing capacity but also potential efficiency gains.
• Collaboration with Utilities: Engage in proactive dialogues with utilities to ensure alignment with decarbonization and electrification goals, considering potential delays in feeder station upgrades.

2. On-Site Energy Infrastructure:

• Microgrid Adoption: Explore the adoption of microgrids, on-site energy systems equipped with generation, storage, and advanced controls, offering resilience and the ability to function independently or alongside the grid.
• Sustainable Technologies: Embrace distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, hydrogen, battery storage, renewable diesel, and renewable natural gas to decarbonize energy infrastructure.

3. Strategic Planning and Policy Alignment:

• Future-Proofing: Develop strategies that consider evolving technology, changing energy demands, and regulatory landscapes to future-proof energy infrastructure.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure that energy transition plans align with local, state, and federal emissions mandates, avoiding potential conflicts and ensuring sustainability goals are met.

Microgrid Adoption:

Understanding Microgrids: A microgrid is characterized by on-site, behind-the-meter energy systems equipped with storage, advanced automation, and multiple generation sources. What distinguishes microgrids is their ability to meet most of a site's day-to-day energy needs and operate independently ("island" mode) from the grid when needed. It's a dynamic resource, capable of optimizing energy sources based on factors like cost, carbon, and reliability. Importantly, simply adding battery storage to a solar array doesn't automatically transform it into a microgrid.

Microgrids emerge as powerful tools for energy management, offering distinct advantages over traditional backup generators and grid-tied solar systems. Their ability to diversify energy sources, enhance resilience, and enable simultaneous decarbonization sets them apart. Microgrids empower airports in four key ways: mitigating peak demand charges, accelerating decarbonization faster than the grid, elevating reliability, and overcoming site constraints unique to airports.

1.     Control Over Energy Costs: Microgrids allow airports to optimize costs by shifting off-grid power or selling excess energy back to the grid during peak demand, helping to avoid or minimize peak demand charges and rising electricity costs.

2.     Decarbonization and Electrification: Microgrids contribute to decarbonization efforts, offering a cleaner and more resilient alternative to traditional backup generators. They enable faster electrification than the grid, particularly important as organizations strive to meet ambitious decarbonization targets.

3.     Reliability and Resilience: Microgrids enhance power reliability and resilience by providing self-sustaining power. They can be sized to support 100% of an airport's energy needs, offering near-instantaneous bump times and quicker recovery compared to most generators.

4.     Overcoming Site Constraints: Microgrids are designed to be decentralized, allowing several microgrids to serve the same airport in a federated system. This approach helps avoid distribution issues and costs associated with specialized facilities like airports spread across large distances.

However, there are challenges and considerations associated with microgrid adoption:

Complexity: Deploying a microgrid involves intricate decision-making throughout its lifecycle, from design-build to operate-maintain. It requires considerations of various DER options, load requirements, and system dynamics, often posing challenges for in-house engineering and facilities teams.

Upfront Cost: Building a sophisticated power plant at an airport requires significant upfront capital. Funding microgrid projects can be challenging, especially for airports with existing infrastructure improvement backlogs.

Regulatory Barriers: In some states, behind-the-meter energy infrastructure like microgrids may face regulatory barriers. Although airports, as major energy users, might be considered for exceptions, navigating regulatory hurdles can be complex.

The choice between traditional Capital Expenditure (CapEx) models and newer Energy as a Service (EaaS) models, where the service provider owns and operates the system, depends on factors like risk tolerance, funding availability, and the desire for long-term control over energy costs.

Case Studies:

Two notable case studies exemplify successful microgrid implementations at Pittsburgh International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport. These airports adopted an Energy as a Service (EaaS) model, emphasizing the operational and financial benefits of such an approach. 

Practical considerations, including right-sizing microgrid systems, involving the right stakeholders, and evaluating funding models, are crucial steps for organizations venturing into on-site energy infrastructure.Top of Form