IEEE Electrification - December 2020 - 122

VIEWPOINT

microgrids diversify energy infrastructure and provide an alternate
source of power that is resilient,
reliable, cheaper, safer, and environmentally friendly. University
campuses, military bases, tribal reservations, and some critical urban
infrastructure are among the market segments for microgrids, where
R&D, economics, and environmental
and resiliency benefits act as significant drivers of adoption. Currently,
microgrids are designed to provide
SEERR benefits only to large energy
infrastructure. Additionally, microgrid
assets are underutilized. Microgrids'
analytic capability, which is provided by a master controller, can
convey SEERR benefits to other infrastructure, such as transportation.
Consequently, the available capacity
of DERs is dispatched not only to
improve energy operations but to
deliver SEERR benefits to transportation infrastructure. Among the
untapped market segments for
microgrids, airports represent a communication, multimodal transportation, and water system platform that
is highly dependent on reliable, resilient, and cost-effective energy. Airports accelerated their conversion to
microgrids following the 2017 Hartsfield-Jackson incident.
Although airport microgrids are
not a commercially viable solution, the
private equity sector has shown interest in investing in such projects. Due
to the lack of a standard and comprehensive framework to develop, design, construct, and operate airport
microgrids, it is hard to monetize airport microgrids' resiliency and reliability benefits. The lack of a standard and
scientifically approved methodology
to quantify the resilience value found
by early adopters, and the absence of a
mature market for reliability services,
are the significant barriers to commercializing microgrids at airports.
To advance a business case for
airport microgrids, we should introduce a replicable and scalable solution that speaks to the regulatory,

122

permitting, and technical hurdles.
Airport operations and investments
are structured by distinctive authorities having jurisdictions (AHJs). Airports offer infrastructure to diverse
service providers and their industries, such as freight and passenger
transportation companies. Systemwide, commercial flights carried
approximately 240 million passengers (domestic and international) in
2018, and cargo flights transported
11.7 million tons of freight to and
from the United States. Like other
investments, developing a standard
microgrid solution that tackles all
AHJs' planning and operating principles requires time and effort.
The absence of a replicable and
scalable microgrid solution, including AHJs' preapproved technologies,
considerations, and design approaches, delays microgrid deployment in
this market segment. Simultaneously, airport operation personnel, who
are well trained to work on different
systems, are reluctant to deal with
advanced technologies, including
microgrids. Building an airport
microgrid working group to bring
together AHJ representatives, airport
planning and operation staff, and
private investors, and leveraging
public grants to conduct a viability
assessment, deployment, and demonstration of a small-scale microgrid
project, would facilitate the development and deployment of replicable
and scalable microgrid solutions.
The outcome of such initiatives
would enable AHJs to update this
critical infrastructure sector's master energy plan beyond existing efficiency and financial benefits to
reflect airports' power security
essentials, including the level of
energy resilience each airport should
achieve, and to consider the customers airports serve.
Some U.S. airports in California,
Pennsylvania, and Colorado have
taken small steps toward executing a
big vision. Public agencies and private equity investors are funding

I E E E E l e c t r i f i cati o n M agaz ine / DECEMBER 2020

these initiatives. San Diego International Airport began its advanced
energy infrastructure by installing a
3.3-MW photovoltaic system in 2015.
The airport's electricity distribution
system was upgraded to a redundant
12-kV distribution network. With its
microgrid vision, the facility has
gradually reinforced its energy system by adding DERs, such as battery
energy storage systems.

For Further Reading
" General aviation airports: A national
asset, " Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington, D.C., May 2012. [Online].
Available: https://www.faa.gov/airports/
planning_capacity/ga_study/media/
2012AssetReport.pdf
" Airport data & contact information, " Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington, D.C. https://www.faa.gov/
airports/airport_safety/airportdata
_5010/#importers
" General aviation airports reports, "
Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C., Mar. 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.faa.gov/airports/
planning_capacity/ga_study/
https://www.faa.gov/airports/plan
ning_capacity/npias/reports/media/
NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Appendix
-C.pdf
" National plan of integrated airport
systems (NPIAS) reports-Previous
years, " Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington, D.C., Sept. 30, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.faa.gov/
airports/planning_capacity/npias/
reports/historical
" Failure to act: Closing the infrastructure investment gap for America's economic future, " American Society of Civil
Engineers, Reston, VA, 2016. [Online].
Available: www.asce.org/failuretoact
" San Diego international airport. "
Borrego Solar. https://www.borregosolar
.com/commercial-solar-systems/
san-diego-international-airport
" Microgrids for airports: The barriers
and solutions. " Microgrid Knowledge.
https://microgridknowledge.com/
microgrids-airports-willdan/

Biography
Mehdi Ganji (mehdi.ganji@willdan
.com) is with Willdan Group, Anaheim, California.

IEEE Electrification - December 2020

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