The Port of Seattle Commission approved funds for a new environmentally friendly pre-conditioned air project at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
A complete design for the project is expected by January 2010, with construction set to begin later in the year. The project completion date is expected to be December 2012.
It will cost just over $33 million but will save the airport $400,000 annually by reducing emissions by over 69,000 metric tons every year. Over 80 percent of the project will be covered by federal grants.
Port of Seattle Commission President Bill Bryant calls this new system a "win-win for us all." The CO2 savings are equivalent to taking 13,000 cars off the road, and after factoring in all of the grants, the project is expected to pay for itself, he said.
In addition to the emissions benefits, this new system will reduce noise from aircraft parked at the gates.
In the past several months, a number of airlines and airports, including Continental, SAS, British Airways, Air Canada, Qantas, JetStar, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and San Francisco International have announced programs to make air travel greener.
