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CHAPTER EIGHT
NEW TECHNOLOGIES, INNOVATION, AND LONG-TERM PAYBACK
This chapter discusses emerging technologies, innovative large, underutilized roof areas within the established electrical
project delivery, and policy trends that will impact energy effi- grid and uses them for electrical production (Coughlin 2009).
ciency at airports in the future. Unique or innovative practices
and those with long-term payback included solar PV, wind With large roof areas on terminal buildings, hangers, and
energy systems, and high-performance windows. parking structures, and very little shade from surrounding
buildings, airport terminal roof tops are often prime can-
didates for large-scale PV installations--especially as panel
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES efficiencies increase and costs decrease (Seidenman and
Solar Thermal and Photovoltaics
Spanovich 2008).
As identified more than 20 years ago in the Bruntland report, Quoting California Public Utilities Commission Commis-
the technology for solar thermal and solar electric technolo- sioner John A. Bohn, "Unlike other generation resources, these
gies is constantly improving and "it is likely that their con- projects can get built quickly and without the need for expen-
tribution [to energy production] will increase substantially" sive new transmission lines. And since they are built on exist-
(Bruntland 1987, p. 144). ing structures, these projects are extremely benign from an
environmental standpoint, with [limited] land use, water,
The need for a steady transition to a broader and more sustainable [and] air emission impacts" (California Public Utilities Com-
mix of energy sources is beginning to become accepted. Renew- mission 2009, p. 2).
able energy sources could contribute substantially to this, partic-
ularly with new and improved technologies, but their development
will depend in the short run on the reduction or removal of certain
Because a private investment group and solar developer
economic and institutional constraints to their use (Bruntland pay for installation, all up-front capital costs are avoided; how-
1987, p. 145). ever, agreements are legally complicated and usually require
an agreement to purchase power at a fixed rate for 20 years
Airport terminals possess distinct advantages that position or more (Coughlin 2009).
them well for implementation of solar technologies in the future
including large roof areas and limited shading from vegetation.
Geothermal or Ground-Source Heat Pumps
FresnoYosemite and Phoenix Airports have installed large,
Ground-source heat pump (GSHP) is the name for "a broad
greater than 1 MW, projects.
category of space conditioning systems that employ a geother-
mal resource--the ground, groundwater, or surface water--
Although prices for electricity from photovoltaics may not become
widely competitive with wholesale prices for electricity from con- as both a heat source and sink. GSHPs use a reversible refrig-
ventional generating technologies within the next 25 years, they eration cycle to provide either heating or cooling" (DOE 2007).
may be competitive with high retail electricity prices in sunny By replacing old or inefficient direct expansion mechanical
regions (EIA and DOE 2009). systems with GSHP, significant savings and additional flexi-
bility within the system can be achieved.
Power Purchase Agreements
for Photovoltaic Systems Very limited use was noted in the survey with only one
major airport providing cost data. These data indicated a 2- to
In addition to owner-installed and managed roof-top PV instal- 5-year payback and medium level of investment. Other sources
lations, alternative leasing models are being tested across the indicated longer payback terms of 4 to 13 years and savings
country, with one of the largest being initiated by the utility, of 25% to 30% on energy consumption (Turner et al. 2007,
Southern California Edison and their Solar Roofs Program. p. 14; DOE 2008).
Southern California Edison or a private corporation will "own,
install, operate and maintain" rooftop systems on existing Ongoing improvements at the JNU airport include the addi-
commercial or public rooftops, leasing space from and sell- tion of GSHP systems and envelope retrofits. Although the
ing power to building owners through contracts known as $1 million cost of the GSHP system is close to 20% of the
power purchase agreements. This strategy takes advantage of annual operations budget, a combination of grants, legisla-
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39
tive appropriations, and facility fees coupled with expected
savings of at least $80,000 per year in energy costs, mean an
expected payback of just over 6 years (Martin 2009). Geo-
thermal ice and snow melt systems in exterior pavements are
expected to bring additional savings owing to reduced equip-
ment maintenance costs, labor, and ice removal chemical
expenses (Martin 2009).
Box 17 Implementing Geothermal Space Conditioning
Juneau International Airport ( JNU) and the surrounding
community typically heat with diesel fuel owing to the land-
locked geography and therefore are very sensitive to fuel
prices. When the airport began evaluating a terminal reha-
bilitation and expansion, fuel prices were rising, which made
operating costs a determining factor in the decision to install
a ground source heat pump or geo-thermal system, one of
the first systems in the area. With this system coming on line
in the late fall of 2009, the airport is already looking ahead
to future improvements. Another geothermal system, this
one a horizontal loop field, was installed for a future main-
tenance building as the building site was disturbed during a
separate earthwork project (see Figures 12 and 13).
Bemidji Regional Airport (BJI), located in northern Min-
nesota, is taking a similar approach, and utilizing large
land areas that airports have available to plan for a geother-
mal system. This system will be a vertical well-field installed
FIGURE 13 Geothermal system installation.
adjacent to taxiways to serve an expanded terminal build-
ing, as well as a renovated Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting
(ARFF) facility. other airports, including Toronto, which built a "three turbine
cogeneration plant" (Schwartz 2009).
Cogeneration of Heat and Electricity The "use of cogeneration is not a simple decision because
of fluctuating natural gas and electric prices and high capital
The survey found no use of cogeneration technology by sur- costs" (Turner et al. 2007, p. 6).
vey respondents. Literature sources indicated utilization at
Micro Wind Turbines
Small-scale wind turbine installation, such as PV installation,
has been considered as a supplemental energy source for air-
port terminals. Currently, their implementation is challenged
by low electricity rates, which can significantly extend pay-
back periods.
As a test case, on-site, parapet-mounted wind turbines
were recently installed at MSP Airport. Although long-term
data are not yet available, payback periods of greater than
10 years are expected at this time (see Figure 14).
Peak Shifting Thermal Storage
To avoid paying peak demand charges for energy during
FIGURE 12 Geothermal well field. Well fields installed
the most intensive months and days of the year, some airport
below existing pavements at Juneau International Airport respondents utilize peak-shifting thermal storage. This prac-
(Courtesy: JNU). tice takes energy at off-peak times to heat or cool a material
