UnShutdown clinched by LGA FAA
FAA at the Air Traffi c Control Tower at LaGuardia Airport is the straw that
broke the great 2019 shutdown back. Photo by Jeff Yapalater
AIRPORT VOICE, FEBRUARY 2019 7
The Port Port Authority
of NY&NJ plans to integrate
more than 10 megawatts of
solar power at John F. Kennedy
International Airport that will
help reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, while providing
local low-income residents the
opportunity to purchase clean
energy at reduced rates
The New York State Public
Service Commission (PSC)
today approved the Port
Authority’s request to proceed
with renewable solar power
projects at John F. Kennedy
International Airport, which
will help the agency meet its
aggressive greenhouse gas
(GHG) emission reduction
goals.
PSC’s action allows the Port
Authority, in collaboration
with New York Power
Authority (NYPA), to move
forward with plans to create
more than 10 megawatts of
on-site solar facilities at JFK,
including a 5 megawatt solar
generation facility that will
offer power at reduced rates to
nearby communities.
Residents, particularly
those in low-income
neighborhoods, would have
fi rst access to purchase solargenerated
renewable energy
at a reduced rate from their
normal utility bill. The facility
would be sited on a portion of
JFK’s long-term parking lot.
“The implementation of
Community Solar is growing
and will now be accessible
for homeowners and renters
around John F. Kennedy
International Airport,” said
Port Authority Chairman
Kevin O’Toole. “The Port
Authority will continue
designing similar programs
that are intended to support
communities that seek
renewable energy, while
reducing emissions across the
agency.
“Creating a major solar
power project is an important
step for the Port Authority’s
mission to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, and what’s
more, it will benefi t the
community surrounding
JFK Airport,” said Port
Authority Executive Director
Rick Cotton. “Community
Solar power at JFK builds
on Governor Cuomo’s
sustainability efforts at the
state level, while enhancing
the agency’s capability to be
a good neighbor by helping
nearby residents obtain
more affordable and cleaner
energy.”
“The Port Authority’s
ambitious solar development
plans represent a true
success story,” said Public
Service Commission Chair
John B. Rhodes. “New York
State has ambitious clean
energy goals that require
the smart, aggressive
development of renewable
energy. Earlier this week,
Governor Cuomo announced
the landmark Green New
Deal which mandates 100%
Clean Power by 2040. This
Port Authority project will
support achievement of these
goals as well as promote
the Commission’s interest
in increasing access to
clean energy in the local
community.”
“The Port Authority has
stepped up as a regional leader
in reducing carbon emissions
and helping combat climate
change,” said Gil C. Quiniones,
NYPA president and CEO.
“This ruling removes
regulatory uncertainty and
allows NYPA to move forward
with the Port Authority in
the development of two solar
generation facilities that will
help JFK achieve its on-site
renewable energy targets
while supporting New York
State’s overall policy goals.”
The Port Authority expects
to develop the Community
Solar project by entering
into a lease agreement with
a solar developer, which
would construct a large solar
array over a portion of JFK’s
long-term parking lot. In
addition to the 5 megawatt
Community Solar project,
the Port Authority will seek
to develop an additional 5-8
megawatt solar system at the
site for the Port Authority’s
own consumption at JFK,
which will support its vision
for the new, best-in-class JFK
development to exemplify
green, sustainable design and
operation.
The Community Solar
developer would design, build,
own, operate and maintain the
system, and arrange for sale
of the electricity to residents.
Solar panels would be placed
atop a canopy structure built
over a portion of the parking
area.
The agency would receive
a regular lease payment
from the Community Solar
developer. The Port Authority
would enter into a Power
Purchase Agreement for the
portion of the development
intended for its use at JFK.
It was LaGuardia Airport
that broke the President’s
back and ended the partial
governmental shutdown that
lasted nationally for 35 days.
The sudden groundstop of
arriving planes at LaGuardia,
because of the worker nonshow
or sick-out slowdown
at airports in Dulles and
Philadelphia made air
traffi c control untenable and
within a couple of hours of
this situation the President
indicated that he would end
the shutdown.
One airport in the United
States, LaGuardia, unable
to function properly, ended a
nationwide 35 day shutdown.
The behind the scenes
activity may never really
be known, Calls to various
people in the air traffi c world
had similar opinions.
They were not aware
of the details, they did not
think that the local FAA
matter would spread to JFK
Airport, and that the staffi ng
shortages were serious to the
operations.
Loretta Alkalay, a former
FAA attorney and Regional
Counsel for the FAA’s
Eastern Region and now
Adjunct Professor at Vaughn
College said.
“I heard about the delays
at LaGuardia. It is hard to
determine what is actually
happening but the staffi ng
shortage is a critical piece.
“People should be concerned.
But it is a good thing that the
FAA is having this action
since it is keeping the system
safe.
“Staffi ng shortage may
be the reason for the delay in
fl ights but I am not familiar
with the reasons”.
However, the system can
be stretched safely in normal
times, but they need a pipeline
of people to operate safely.
Without this pipeline this
lack of staffi ng can lead to
distraction and stress on the
part of the FAA workers”.
She also indicated that the
attorneys for the FAA were
non essential and not working.
These attorneys who normally
can shut down an airline or
unsafe operator. “
The issue seemed to only
affect LaGuardia. A call to the
JFK Control Tower elicited
this response, “Things are
busy but there is no impact
from delays from Dulles or
Philadelphia.”
A former FAA air traffi c
controller said, “Here at our
terminal all our traffi c is
international so we are not
currently impacted” “Never
had a shut down this long and
I never experienced this type
of situation”
One major airline at both
LGA and JFK dispatch person
said there had not been any
diversions from LGA into
JFK.
He commented, “Things
are a bit slower but we don’t
have confi rmation of any slow
down at JFK.
“Things could get bad next
week for Superbowl travelling
if the government shutdown is
not resolved”, he said.
Another fl ight dispatcher
at JFK reported “There are
no issues with delays at JFK
Airport but you never know
how things could develop.
Much of the traffi c at JFK
is international so many
fl ights are already in the
air, so we are unlikely to be
negatively affected.
As much of these
conversations were being held
here in New York, apparently
there were as many or more
within the government since
the situation in the NY region
airspace was concerning and
possible getting worse. The
President made the call the
end the shutdown.
He cautioned however that
this was a three week temporary
lift. He cautioned that he would
take all constitutional and steps
afforded to him to reinstall
the shutdown if his calls for a
border construction were not
enacted.
As of this printing,15
days and couting to the next
possible shutdown, ironically
on President’s Day.
More greening at JFK