Passengers in Pittsburgh International Airport weren’t aware when the switch was flipped, which was by design. The lights didn’t flicker, the escalators didn’t stop.

But when the airport’s engineers and electricians officially moved the entire facility onto its own microgrid powered by natural gas and solar energy, they electrified an entire industry.

PIT’s first-of-its-kind microgrid has caught the eye of aviation officials around the world who are likely wondering if they, too, can build an independent source of electricity that saves costs, increases security and leads the way in sustainable energy models.

It’s an admirable goal, wrote Forbes magazine, but others may struggle to follow in our tracks, for several reasons:

“Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) went ‘off the grid’ in early June. Far from embracing the ‘simple-life’ that preppers covet, it has nonetheless achieved a measure of independence and resiliency that airports and survivalists across the country will applaud — it has its own independent, plentiful, 24-7 electrical power.

“In an era when regional and airport power outages are semi-weekly news, PIT’s new microgrid seems highly desirable.”

To read the full article, click here.