John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport, the busiest airport for worldwide site visitors in North America, at all times appears to be reinventing itself. It opened in 1948 as New York Worldwide Airport, though it was usually referred to then as Idlewild. The airport was meant because the world’s largest and best, with “no confusion and no congestion.”
As airport site visitors grew, so did the necessity for bigger and improved services. In 1954, architect Wallace Harrison designed a plan that gave main airways their very own terminals. The end result was referred to as Terminal Metropolis: 5 airways had their particular person terminals, three airways shared a sixth terminal, and overseas airways used the worldwide arrivals terminal.
Since then, there have been a number of adjustments and reconfigurations. Now JFK is present process a $19-billion redevelopment undertaking that, amongst a number of new terminals, contains the two.4-million square-foot, 23-gate terminal dubbed the New Terminal One, which would be the largest at JFK—greater than twice the dimensions of the present Terminal 1, which opened in 1998.
The New Terminal One can have what its creators have mentioned is the most important photo voltaic array at any US airport, which can energy a fleet of electrical autos used on the terminal each landside and airside. Building of the large array, consisting of greater than 13,000 photo voltaic panels on the terminal’s roof, started in 2024.
As Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman Kevin O’Toole mentioned in saying plans for the photo voltaic array, “Guests from world wide can be energized from the second they enter the New Terminal One at JFK.”
Pictures by Jonathan Spira
It received’t solely be the passengers who’re energized. The New Terminal One’s photo voltaic array will help roughly 50% of the terminal’s power necessities—an quantity of power that might energy greater than 3,500 common US properties. It should even be a blended system in order that, at any level, the electrical units that preserve issues transferring at a busy aerodrome can be working on 50% clear power.
The 6.63 megawatts (MW) of photo voltaic power can be a part of a 12 MW microgrid. Situated in 4 clusters {of electrical} era infrastructure strategically positioned across the new terminal to create a single good, resilient power system, this microgrid will even embody 3.84 MW of gasoline cells and 1.5 MW/3.34 MWh of battery power storage to steadiness electrical demand and enhance energy high quality. The system can function independently from or whereas linked to the principle energy grid.
Advantages of electrical floor help autos
The microgrid will provide the ability to cost the various varieties of electrical autos distinctive to airports.
Airports make use of an unlimited array of autos massive and small of their operations. Some function airside (after safety), and a few landside, however their mission is essential to individuals (and baggage) transferring. There are lots of operations that happen behind the scenes (which passengers not often see), together with upkeep, baggage dealing with and plane motion.
Many airport autos are fairly seen to passengers, together with baggage carts, baggage tugs, pushback autos, passenger shuttles and conveyor belt loaders. What passengers don’t usually see embody the autos transporting baggage to storage operations in warehouses, these utilized by cleansing providers, refrigerated vans for transporting meals and meal trays, and autos that deal with recycling and waste administration.
Because the transfer from diesel- or LP-powered autos to electrical autos takes place at airports, it’s essential to remember that ICE-powered autos convert 20% to 30% of their gasoline into propulsion, whereas EVs convert 80% to 90%.
Case research: Electrical buses exchange diesel bus fleet at JFK
The Port Authority took a large leap into electrification 4 years in the past when it changed quite a few ICE buses that convey passengers to the terminal with the driverless light-rail JFK AirTrain, which makes use of electrical energy. Even after the launch of the JFK AirTrain, the Port Authority nonetheless had plenty of diesel coach buses.
After a number of years of planning, the Port Authority changed its inter-terminal diesel-powered bus fleet in 2019 not solely at JFK but additionally at LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports, with 36 battery-operated Proterra Catalyst E2 Electrical shuttle buses.
By taking the ICE-powered buses—which had consumed about 240,000 gallons of diesel gasoline annually—out of service at JFK, the company mentioned it decreased its greenhouse gasoline emissions by roughly 40,000 tons every year. Additionally, the 40-foot buses eradicated the emissions of roughly 2,000 kilos (907 kg) of nitrous oxide and 150 kilos of particulate matter yearly that might in any other case have spewed into native residential neighborhoods within the borough of Queens in New York Metropolis, the place the aerodrome is positioned.
Every bus can journey roughly 230 miles on a cost, and it takes 4 hours to completely recharge the bus.
Case research: Early electrical tugs designed particularly for GM
In 2006, GM got here to Eagle Tugs with a undertaking to standardize its tow tractor (tugger) fleet throughout all its crops worldwide. Eagle designed the RTT sequence A/C electrical line of tow tractors with in depth enter from GM operators, in addition to security and manufacturing engineers.
The RTTs supply alternative charging that enables the tuggers to deal with three shifts of operation with out having to exchange batteries, they’re ergonomically right (being the one tuggers to supply operators stand-up and sit-down operation) and so they ship a 1,000-hour preventative upkeep schedule versus the 200-hour preventative upkeep schedule of different tow tractors.
In 2009, Eagle introduced its experience in designing and manufacturing A/C electrical tow tractors to the aviation market.
“With Eagle Electrical Tow Tractors, you possibly can tow and push something from individuals trams to rocket launch platforms effectively, reliably and safely,” the corporate mentioned.
Electrification on the New Terminal One
Airports function 24/7, and they’re powerful environments for tools that continues to be outside in rain, snow, sub-zero temperatures and different inclement situations. Accordingly, the much less probably it’s {that a} pushback/tow tractor will fail to start out or carry out, the higher it’s for all involved, from passengers to rampers to pilots to air-traffic controllers. EVs, given their fewer transferring elements and minimal upkeep in comparison with the alternate options, are subsequently perfect for airport environments.
Airside operations have trusted inner combustion-powered autos for many years, though that’s slowly altering. On the tarmac, the usage of EVs reminiscent of tugs, baggage carts and passenger shuttles is gaining acceptance, and JFK’s New Terminal One—so as to meet its sustainability objectives—is aiming to exchange all such autos in use on the present Terminal 1 at a speedy tempo.
Tim Castaldy, a Senior Electrical Designer at Nevada-based PK Electrical, examined the influence of EVs on airport floor transportation in a latest weblog publish, and took the time to supply real-life illustrations of the next points that have been put forth to him in an interview masking his work with Denver Worldwide Airport, an electrification shopper.
Well being points – Ramp employees and others who work airside are continuously uncovered to poisonous emissions, and lots of face well being points consequently, Castaldy mentioned.
Price-benefit ratio – Whereas electrical airside autos are noticeably dearer than conventional-powered ones, over the lifetime of a automobile, the price financial savings accrued from decrease upkeep prices in addition to the decrease value of electrical energy versus diesel or gasoline have been verifiable.
Noise air pollution – EVs are a lot quieter than their non-electric counterparts and reduce the influence of noise air pollution on the well being of airport employees. The transfer to telecommuting within the first years of the pandemic led to the disclosure of plenty of well being points from non-airport employees with residences close to airports, so it isn’t onerous to think about the well being influence to airport employees themselves.
Effectivity – Since EVs have considerably extra low-end torque, they are perfect for towing plane and extra effectively transferring heavy masses, Castaldy underscored.
Chilly climate operation – Electrical airside autos have been discovered to be extra dependable in chilly climate than their counterparts, Castaldy mentioned. “Chilly climate reliability (is a robust justification for) EV tugs,” he mentioned. “The ICE tugs can have issue beginning in chilly climate, which isn’t the case with the EVs.”
How the electrons will get to the New Terminal One’s EVs
The contractor for the microgrid, AlphaStruxure, is financing the undertaking by means of an Power as a Service contract, primarily a pay-for-performance, off-balance-sheet financing answer, which can enable the Port Authority to implement power effectivity tasks with zero upfront capital expenditure. Over the lifetime of the contract, AlphaStruxure can be accountable not just for the development, but additionally the operation and upkeep of the microgrid.
Will the bottom providers EVs be working solely on photo voltaic power at sure junctures? The reply is a powerful, “it’s potential however it relies upon,” in line with Michelle Charello, VP of Advertising at AlphaStruxure. “At this stage, AlphaStruxure and the New Terminal One can’t pinpoint the precise contribution from the microgrid attributable to the truth that the microgrid will present total electrical energy to the terminal and autos, assembly demand for masses as much as its manufacturing capability. Since we can’t direct electrons to particular masses, the microgrid will provide no matter demand exists, restricted to its out there output.”
Nonetheless, given the legislation of variable constants and proportions, it’s probably that on uncommon—or maybe not so uncommon—events, some EVs will obtain 100% photo voltaic power.
