Greater than 13,000 photo voltaic panels shall be put in on the roof of the New Terminal One challenge at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) in New York Metropolis. The consortium chosen to construct the challenge, led by AlphaStruxure, on September 24 mentioned development is underway.
The announcement got here Tuesday throughout Local weather Week NYC, an annual occasion hosted by the Local weather Group, a global non-profit that helps local weather motion initiatives. The occasion started Sunday and continues via September 29.
The New Terminal One is being constructed on websites now occupied by JFK’s Terminal 1, the lately closed Terminal 2, and the previous Terminal 3, the place it can anchor the airport’s south aspect. The challenge is being in-built phases, with the primary part—which incorporates new arrivals and departures halls and the primary set of 14 new gates—is anticipated to open in 2026.
Completion of New Terminal One is anticipated in 2030. As soon as full it can embody 2.6 million sq. toes, and would be the largest terminal at JFK.
The photo voltaic array—protecting an space the dimensions of six-and-a-half soccer fields—would be the largest in New York Metropolis, and the biggest at any airport terminal within the U.S. It’s a part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $19 billion improve technique at JFK that can embrace two new terminals that includes public artwork and expanded retail area, together with an growth and modernization of two current terminals and a brand new roadway community on the airport. The Port Authority has mentioned it desires to achieve net-zero emissions of carbon from its operations by 2050.
The photo voltaic array can have 6.63-MW of technology capability. It’s a part of a microgrid that can ship electrical energy from solar energy, gasoline cells (3.84 MW), and battery power storage (1.5 MW/3.34 kWh) via a self-contained system that may function in island mode, or when related to the principle energy grid.
Clusters of Infrastructure
Officers on Tuesday mentioned the microgrid will present as a lot as half the ability for the terminal’s every day operations through 4 clusters of energy technology infrastructure positioned across the terminal.
“When the brand new terminal is full, it is going to be the biggest terminal at Kennedy Airport, so we’re notably happy to include on-site energy utilizing a inexperienced power supply into the design of the terminal,” mentioned Port Authority Govt Director Rick Cotton. “We now have made sustainability a serious precedence at our services, and this large photo voltaic array is a singular and progressive resolution that reduces our carbon footprint and continues our march in direction of internet zero.”
Kevin O’Toole, chairman of the Port Authority, mentioned, “This development milestone in our redevelopment of John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport represents greater than progress at one in all our services as a result of its success will set an business instance for others. On-site inexperienced power growth such because the nation’s largest airport photo voltaic array will scale back the technology of greenhouse gases that trigger local weather change on the New Terminal One.”
The microgrid will get better warmth from the gasoline cells to generate chilled water and sizzling water for the terminal. AlphaStruxure is financing the microgrid challenge via an Vitality as a Service (EaaS) contract, which is a long-term settlement that ensures regular working prices and likewise ensures efficiency with out upfront capital expenditures for both the Port Authority or the airport. AlphaStruxure is answerable for the development, operation, and upkeep of the microgrid over the lifetime of the contract.
“Breaking floor on this first-of-its-kind microgrid resolution is a serious and thrilling milestone in New Terminal One’s dedication to decreasing our carbon footprint and setting a brand new business normal on sustainability,” mentioned Jennifer Aument, CEO of New Terminal One. “This resilient and environment friendly power resolution will concurrently allow us to decarbonize, drive innovation, and ship lasting advantages to each our passengers and our neighborhood.”
Airport See Elevated Energy Demand
“Relating to power, airports are dealing with an ideal storm: extra passengers, extra electrification, extra outages, and extra energy capability bumping up in opposition to growing old power infrastructure that’s much less and fewer capable of sustain,” mentioned Juan Macias, CEO of AlphaStruxure. “JFK’s New Terminal One is constructing sustainable power infrastructure on the pace and scale vital to remain forward of those challenges. We’re thrilled to offer an built-in microgrid resolution through Vitality as a Service that not solely supplies resilience for New Terminal One passengers, however advances the town, state and Port Authority’s bold decarbonization targets.”
The microgrid know-how aligns with the Port Authority’s sustainability targets, which embrace reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. It additionally requires “greener” operations by enterprise companions, resembling airport terminal operators and airways.
The Port Authority, in partnership with the New York Energy Authority, is also constructing a 12-MW photo voltaic cover at JFK’s long-term car parking zone 9. The system will embrace battery power storage.
Officers on Tuesday mentioned different photo voltaic initiatives at Port Authority services embrace a 5-MW photo voltaic parking cover at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport, a 1.5-MW rooftop photo voltaic array on LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B storage, and a 600-kW photo voltaic roof on a PATH warehouse rooftop.
Resilient Microgrid
Officers mentioned the New Terminal One microgrid “shall be particularly resilient as a result of its novel design of clustered structure consisting of 4 so-called energy islands.” Every island operates “as a hyper-localized, self-sufficient power system with sources of technology, storage, and superior automation and management. When one island is taken down for routine upkeep, the opposite three can stay on-line.”
The New Terminal One rooftop photo voltaic cover would be the largest such photo voltaic array at any U.S. airport. Officers mentioned it can present a case research for the aviation and photo voltaic power industries relating to assembly federal necessities to mitigate glare. The design of the clustered energy islands for the microgrid may be a mannequin for different airports which have restricted area, or busy operations, however wish to add scalable on-site inexperienced energy technology.
The challenge companions embrace AlphaStruxure’s two guardian firms, Schneider Electrical and Carlyle. Schneider is delivering main microgrid know-how, controls, software program, and companies, whereas Carlyle is offering financing for the microgrid.
Different challenge companions embrace Burns Engineering, which serves as proprietor’s engineer on the challenge; E-J Electrical Set up Co. because the design-builder; Vanderweil Engineers because the engineer of report; BOND Civil & Utility Development because the mechanical contractor; and HyAxiom, a Doosan firm, because the supplier of gasoline cells and their upkeep.
JFK Imaginative and prescient Plan
The challenge is a part of the JFK Imaginative and prescient Plan, which was introduced in early 2017. The technique supplies a framework for the Port Authority and its companions to redevelop, modify, and develop current services and infrastructure. The $9.5 billion growth of the New Terminal One, which can anchor the airport’s south aspect, broke floor in September 2022.
The $1.5 billion growth of Terminal 4, led by Delta Air Strains and JFK Worldwide Air Terminal, is also underneath development. A brand new Terminal 6 is also a part of the plant. The $400 million modernization and growth of Terminal 8, led by terminal operator American Airways together with British Airways, was principally accomplished in November 2022.
The Port Authority’s capital funding of $3.9 billion for the challenge is along with greater than $15 billion of personal funding.
—Darrell Proctor is senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
