VIDEO: 1 Year Later, PIT Looks to Expand Microgrid

It has been a year since Pittsburgh International Airport became the first major U.S. airport to be powered entirely by a microgrid using natural gas and solar energy, and the system has been delivering benefits ever since.

Carbon dioxide emissions have been cut by about 8.2 million pounds per year, said Tom Woodrow, PIT’s SVP Engineering and Infrastructure Intelligence.

And because the microgrid’s 9,000 solar panels and five natural gas fired generators operate independently of the traditional grid, it gives the airport greater protection from outages and cyberattacks.