When electric aircraft become more widely used, will regional airports in Washington state have the electrical capacity to support them? This study developed a method to estimate the plausible future energy and power demands of electric aircraft operating at regional airports in Washington to determine whether the electricity grid near those airports will have the capacity to serve the aircrafts’ energy needs over the next one to two decades.
Advances in battery-powered electric motor systems, lightweight materials, and aircraft design have resulted in the development of new electric aircraft that could gradually replace conventional fuel-powered aircraft for certain uses. In addition, billions of dollars have been invested into a whole new category of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with the goal of serving an entirely new urban air mobility market that would supply fast trips within congested metro areas.
The researchers’ method for estimating future electricity demand comprised three parts: developing assumptions about flight operations growth, assumptions about the progress of the technical feasibility of electric aircraft to serve those flights, and assumptions about actual adoption of electric aircraft to serve feasible trips.
They applied the method to two regional airports and found that the electric utilities serving Paine Field in Everett, Washington, and Grant County International Airport near Moses Lake, Washington, have enough electric capacity at the neighboring substations to meet the demand for electricity over the next decade, given the capacities reported by the local utilities. As part of their regular integrated resource planning process, both the Snohomish County and Grant County public utility districts (PUDs) forecast future demand for electricity, including demand from the electrification of passenger vehicles. Neither utility currently includes electric aviation in its forecasts. However, Snohomish PUD has accounted for growth in demand from electric vehicles, and even with that growth it will have capacity to serve Paine Field in the early years of electric aviation. Grant County PUD has surplus electricity and can accommodate significant increases in demand.
Experience gained in the first decade of commercial electric aircraft deployment at these airports will help inform future analyses into whether local grid capacity will eventually support or impede the growth of electric aircraft charging.
The project also developed recommendations on how regional airports can prepare for electric aviation. They can
- Track industry developments as different models of electric aircraft gain certification.
- Engage with emerging electric aviation charging networks regarding their interest and ability to provide service at local airports.
- Track state and federal clean energy grant opportunities.
- Encourage local flight schools to consider electric training aircraft as a lower cost alternative to traditional liquid-fueled airplanes.
Report: WA-RD 918.1
Authors:
Steffen Coenen
Daniel Malarkey
Don MacKenzie
UW Civil and Environmental Engineering
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: John MacArthur
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson