Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) announced this week that it is establishing a microgrid to supply power at the airport, connected to the main electrical power grid in case of emergency but otherwise separate from it.
As microgrids are becoming increasingly popular in the United States due to their efficiencies and the ability to generate power even when the main grid is unavailable, this is not tremendously newsworthy per se. However, what is newsworthy is that most of the power for the microgrid will be supplied by the 14 producing Marcellus Shale natural gas wells at the airport, all of which will provide gas to five natural-gas fired generators. In addition, PIT will build an array of 7,800 solar panels. To construct and operate the grid, PIT entered into a 20-year agreement with utility Peoples Natural Gas, which will connect the gas wells, get the solar panels installed, and make a $30 million investment. PIT claims it will not pay out of pocket at all for the microgrid.
This microgrid concept is being touted as an example of modern sustainability, and also as an example of how solar power can play a much larger role in providing our energy needs. All of this being true, at its core the microgrid still rests on the back of the Marcellus Shale gas wells located within the airport proper. As with other airports, such as Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), PIT generates large revenue streams from the leasing of its land for subterranean shale gas drilling. However, this would be the first time that a large hub airport sets up its own microgrid to power itself, increasing its energy security in case of power problems like brownouts, storm damage, or other occasional problems with the grid. Along with DFW, which also leased its acreage for oil and gas drilling, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) sits adjacent to the Inglewood Oil Field, the largest urban oil field in the country. Both would seem to be candidates to explore such a self-contained microgrid.
Development of a power microgrid, however, raises the basic question: Is this microgrid concept something to exalt or condemn? It dramatically increases the presence of renewable solar energy for airport operations, but its core remains fossil fuels. The fact that PIT’s agreement is for 20 years means that the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates PIT, does not believe that it can convert to operate the airport using only renewable energy within the estimated 10 to 12 year time frame in which climate experts tell us we must transition away completely from fossil fuels. Is this then a major positive step on the road to a more renewable future or an inappropriate locking in of destructive fossil fuel technology and dependence that does not divest quickly enough from fossil fuels?
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