The airport has just won an FAA grant for a fleet of electric shuttle buses: the award of US$2m will go towards half the cost of five shuttle buses and charging stations. Proterra has been chosen as the supplier of these vehicles and it is expected that the buses will go into service in 2018, taking travellers between car parks, terminals and car rental facilities.
The airport also plans to open a large, on-site solar farm this year which will produce up to a third of the facility’s electrical needs. The buses and solar facility should reduce airport costs and lighten the airport’s environmental footprint: the solar farm alone is expected to save around US$850,000 year.
The new buses will supplement the airport’s existing fleet, which runs on compressed natural gas. “In the long run, it is much more economical to run electric vehicles, and at the same time we are not contributing to greenhouse gas emissions,” a spokesperson for the airport said. The initiative is a part of the airport's bigger environmental strategy.
