Birmingham, AL – Sain Engineering Associates, Inc. (SEA) was recently selected to assist the FAA and provide technical and program guidance. SEA will be assisting the FAA in developing guidance for Section 512 of The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 with the goal of increasing the energy efficiency of airports power sources.
Section 512 of the Reform Act requires establishing a program under which the Secretary of Transportation shall encourage airports to assess their energy requirements in order to identify opportunities to increase energy efficiency.
The Act also delegates authority to the Secretary of Transportation to issue grants to assist airport sponsors who have completed the required energy assessment to acquire equipment or to renovate facilities in a manner that will increase energy efficiency at the airport. The technical and program guide to be developed by SEA, will set the standards for the FAA to evaluate airport sponsor requests for grant funding.
According to a study conducted by the Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A & M University, energy is often the second largest airport operating expense after personnel. Airport energy costs have escalated to record high levels due to the price of utilities, the fuel mix of generators, and utility deregulation
The FAA believes that the standards developed as a result of the Modernization and Reform Act will support their commitment to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.
For more information on this project, contact Todd Billings at todd.billings@saineng.com.