Powering the Airport: PIT’s Microgrid an Innovative Force of Resiliency

Pittsburgh's microgrid first to completely power a major airport

BY JULIE BERCIK

Published December 18, 2023

“Solar in the northeast, people that live in sunny, warm places kind of roll their eyes, like you can’t get solar, but obviously we can and the economics work,” said Mike Brady, CEO of IMG Energy Solutions. “Coming out here today, it’s a typical Pittsburgh cloudy day, but we are going to get about 10 percent (of maximum capacity). It’s December too, so you’ve got shorter days, but today we will probably get about 10 percent of a max summer day.”

A public-private partnership funded the microgrid, so there was zero cost to the airport. IMG partnered with Peoples Gas and the Allegheny County Airport Authority as owner and operator of the solar array and operator of the natural gas generators.

Read Full Article