Airports are an important piece of the aviation sustainability puzzle, both due to their local environmental impacts and to the growing availability of lower-carbon, lower-emissions options to replace older and less sustainable equipment. We sat down for a deep-dive with Andrea Caudill, climate and energy consultant at the Port of Portland, which operates that city’s international airport.
“Airports are well positioned to take action and influence change when it comes to reducing emissions. That includes supporting decarbonisation efforts across commercial aviation and cargo flights, but also the facilities and terminals that airports operate,” Caudill tells us. “I believe net zero is possible, it’s just a matter of when the industry can get there. Climate change is an immediate threat, but there are new fuels and technologies that airports can — and should — explore to help address it. We need to work quickly through learning curves, while understanding how to act on the highest impact areas to eliminate fossil fuel use.”
Reducing use of diesel fuel in particular is a powerful lever that airports can pull, and is a win for both global and local impacts owing to the particulate matter emissions that have a substantial impact on the local environment and the health of people living and working at or around the airport.
“Electrification of vehicles is key — both of passenger vehicles and of the ground support equipment that airlines rely on, like belt loaders and baggage and pushback tugs. At PDX, we have more than 120 electric vehicle charging stations, and are providing electrical infrastructure for rental car companies and airlines to transition more of their fleets to EVs,” Caudill explains. “We also have a zero emissions technology study underway to inform our future parking shuttle bus procurement. Biofuels, like renewable diesel and renewable natural gas, are great first steps when electrification isn’t feasible.”
In the meantime, or where infrastructure investment is prioritised elsewhere, bridging sustainability options like process optimisation for emissions reduction, the addition of drop-in biofuels, and new exhaust filtering options can be an especially useful interim lever.
“Leading up to 2030, we are moving forward on a number of electrification projects at PDX — but they take time, funding, and a thoughtful long-term strategy to implement,” Caudill says. “The good news is that there’s an unprecedented level of grant funding for many of these projects, which is necessary to reach a net zero future, and will incentivise more planning and construction projects across the industry.
Upgrading local power, heating and cooling infrastructure can also be an effective lever, with older fossil power plants using natural gas or diesel fuel strong candidates for replacement by more sustainable facilities like ground source heat pumps.
“We’re also working closely with partners to help bring Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to PDX. Aircraft emissions are one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions associated with our operations — roughly 75% — and SAF is a key priority in our decarbonisation roadmap,” Caudill says. “We’re collaborating with other airports to find upstream supply chain solutions, participated on the Oregon Clean Fuels Program Rulemaking Advisory Committee and are advocating for a state level tax credit, to create economic incentives for SAF use in Oregon.”
Collaboration with other aviation actors, the supply chain, local governments and regulators will be important, as is working with researchers and wider industry on new technologies like fuel cells and green hydrogen.
“Studying this area is important because electrification inevitably increases electricity demand, and can create challenges as we lose fuel diversity and the power grid becomes more constrained,” Caudill says. “Hydrogen fuel cells could provide more flexibility with when and where electricity for vehicles or back up power is provided. Additionally, electricity metering and management tools are helpful to continue to invest in informed energy efficiency projects and manage EV charging.”
The heart of the matter for aviation is one of balance and knowledge: developing the expertise and technological understanding to make the best decisions for each airport when it comes to which sustainability levers are the most powerful locally, when to pull them, and how strongly.
Author: John Walton
Published: 4th July 2024
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