Onorato Announces Green Lighting Project At Pittsburgh International Airport

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato this week announced the Allegheny County Airport Authority has been awarded an $800,000 grant by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to install LED lighting at Pittsburgh International Airport parking lots.

“The Airport Authority’s green lighting project is another win-win situation by increasing energy efficiency and decreasing costs,” said Onorato. “When I launched the Allegheny Green initiative, I promised that Allegheny County would lead by example, and we’re doing just that. First we replaced more than 800 lights at the County Jail with high-efficiency LEDs, and now we are replacing nearly 1,500 lights at Pittsburgh International Airport. We will continue to look for ways to operate County facilities more efficiently and environmentally friendly.”

The Airport Authority will use the grant to replace 1,471 existing high-intensity discharge lights with high-efficiency LED fixtures in the long-term and extended parking lots and the three-level parking garage of Pittsburgh International Airport.

The LED lighting system will consume an estimated 83 percent less energy and result in $158,754 in annual energy savings, with 2,118,438 kWh saved over the project’s lifetime. The project will create and preserve 75 well-paying green jobs for Appalachian Lighting Systems in Ellwood City, and 75 percent of the LED fixture components are produced in the United States.

“The Allegheny County Airport Authority is committed to conserving energy and reducing the environmental footprint of the airport system,” said Bradley D. Penrod, Executive Director and CEO of the Airport Authority. “This is one of the many efforts underway to make our operations and facilities greener.”

This $800,000 in grant funding comes through the Department of Environmental Protection from Duquesne Light to assist ratepayers in coping with high energy costs and to ensure they have a secure energy supply needed for critical operations. The total project cost is $1.6 million, and the Authority’s matching funds of $800,000 will come from energy savings from the project over approximately the next 10 years.

“Past investments have positioned Pennsylvania as a leader in the clean energy industry. The awarding of these grants will help continue that trend,” said Gov. Rendell. “When I first revived PEDA in 2005, the goal was to provide the funding and the incentives necessary to move these types of projects forward. Now five years later, the projects we are funding will make significant impacts in the renewable energy market and the daily lives of Pennsylvanians.”

In March, the County replaced more than 800 incandescent light fixtures at the County Jail with high-efficiency LED lights, which consume 83 percent less energy and will save taxpayers $178,000 annually. The cutting-edge, patented fixtures were installed in the pod areas of the jail where lights are required to remain on 24 hours a day.

In June, Onorato announced a countywide energy efficiency and conservation program using $8.1 million in federal stimulus funding. The effort includes a partnership with Duquesne Light to conduct energy audits of municipal buildings in the County, as well as energy-saving upgrades to County-owned and municipal facilities.

Allegheny County and the Airport Authority are both in the process of implementing a Guaranteed Energy Savings Program to further reduce energy consumption.