Once upon a time, there was a long chain-driven gate preventing unauthorized planes from a nearby Boeing hangar from entering onto the runway at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. Due to its excessive length, high winds repeatedly blew the gate down. Now the sun and those same high winds are being used to power a new security system with clean, renewable energy from The Energy Savings Store.
When a major equipment failure disrupted the availability of electric power to this system, a diesel-powered generator was brought in to power the system while a more long-term solution was sought. Replacing the failed equipment was an enormous expense, as was cabling or trenching the contaminated soil beneath the concrete jetway.
An off-grid solar application was considered, and ultimately cost-justified in several ways. It was less expensive than the equipment replacement or trenching, and also less expensive than the diesel generator. The primary expense was the cost of the generator, but the labor required to refill the fuel every other day quickly became a maintenance headache. When diesel fuel rose to $4.50 per gallon, the decision was solidified to invest in a renewable energy solution for the long term.
The system uses 24 2-volt batteries, designed to power the security system for five or more days with no sun or wind. The primary source of power comes from 30 200W solar panels, yielding a total of 6kW of power. Because the system needed to be engineered to handle the shortest days of the winter, two 400W AirX wind turbines were added to the system to supplement the solar power generation. The total system is estimated to generate an average of about 800 kWh of power each month.
On the flat and unobstructed grounds of the airfield, the sun and wind are abundant. With those conditions, it’s likely that this is only the first of many solar and wind power generating systems at the airport - exactly the kind of thing that will enable us to all live happily ever after!
The Energy Savings Stores provides solar energy and wind power solutions throughout Missouri, Kansas and Illinois.
