(Photo: JFK Airport. Credit: Tom Heinze, Flickr Creative Commons)JFK Airport is on track for a new onsite solar plus storage installation. The Port Authority, which operates the airport, awarded the project this week to SunPower Corporation and Goldman Sachs Renewable Power Group.
Once completed, the JFK International Airport Solar Photovoltaic Project should generate around 13 megawatts of onsite solar and approximately 7.5 MW of battery storage, including a 6.1-MW community solar generation facility to provide the surrounding area with affordable renewable energy, according to the Port Authority.
The rest of the solar energy produced is expected to be used onsite, reducing demand for fossil fuel-generated electricity. It should also add resiliency to the airport’s AirTrain system, the agency said. The New York Power Authority is developing the project in partnership with the Port Authority.
Building 141 at JFK Airport is on track to gain around 1 MW of rooftop solar, while more than 13 MW of solar and around 7.5 MW of energy storage are planned for Long Term Parking Lot 9.
“In addition to being the single-largest solar project in New York City, it is the largest planned community solar project at an airport in the United States,” the Port Authority said.
Besides reducing JFK greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 6,699 tons annually, the project is expected to lower the Port Authority’s greenhouse gas emissions at the airport by around 10%, the agency says. In 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced a plan for JFK Airport that called for advanced sustainable design and energy infrastructure to reduce congestion and air pollution.
We are currently accepting submissions for the 2020 Environment + Energy Leader Awards. Learn more here.
