According to yesterday’s Aviation Week, DFW has been rated among the “greenest” airports in the world. Here’s how they do it: 1) of the 631 vehicles used on site, 583 operate on alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas; 2) They recycle building materials; 3) They used an energy analysis program from Texas A&M (go Aggies!) to reduce energy consumption in their immense Terminal B area, and used the program in the design and construction of Terminal D; 4) they receive 10 percent of their power from wind generators based in West Texas; 5) “The airport’s chief contribution to cleaner air is a major overhaul of the central heating and cooling plant known as Energy Plaza…DFW undertook a $122-million upgrade of the Plaza, which is responsible for the heating and cooling of nearly 6 million sq. ft. of terminal space…Another important facet of the upgrade was installation of a 6.3-million-gal. thermal storage system that reduces energy consumption during peak demand periods by 77% and saves DFW about $500,000-750,000 annually.”
The airport is also working with carriers to implement plans to make their systems cleaner and more efficient.
This is pretty impressive stuff, especially considering the sheer amount of traffic that DFW handles in a year. Of course, when I think of DFW, in spite of the fact that I’ve landed there on business many times, I think of looking down on the crazy pattern of runways from the cockpit of a Comanche, and saying to Dan; “Where the hell do we land? Where the hell do we land?”
Plus, maybe they are smart about energy consumption, but their FBO’s in-flight meal service was too damned expensive.
Liz also forgot to mention that the cockpit of a Piper Comanche lacks a microwave oven or any other source to heat up cold fried chicken. Not only was it too expensive, it was also consumed cold.
Posted by: Dan Katz | August 07, 2006 at 08:26 PM