Will all-electric planes, buses mean cheaper ticket prices for Cape Cod Gateway Airport?

A smart microgrid that would generate and distribute reliable, clean energy for the Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis and the surrounding area is planned. Power from the microgrid would be used for charging electric ground vehicles, as well as any future electric aircraft, and potentially reduce the cost of bus rides in the area, according to proponents.

The airport is the only one in the nation to receive a $1.95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program to facilitate the planning of the grid, according to Airport Manager Katie Servis.

The state Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division on Tuesday issued a request for consultant services to design and plan the smart microgrid at the airport, according to a press release.

“One of the things that we're keen on is (preparing) for electric aviation and more electric vehicles using our facility,” Servis said. “So I started to ask questions of the Aeronautics Division about how we can go about securing power for the airport for rapid recharge for electric aviation. And they just so happened to be looking at this SMART program grant.”

What is the SMART program?

The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation program, or SMART program, was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and distributes $100 million annually through the years of 2022-2026.

The program was established to provide funding and grants to public sector entities — like the Cape Cod Gateway Airport — focused on advancing innovative community technologies aimed at improving transportation efficiency and safety.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has received a total of 392 application submissions for the program for fiscal year 2022. The average amount of funding requested was $1.5 million.

What is a microgrid, and what is a smart one?

A microgrid, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, is a group of interconnected energy resources that act as a single entity. As such, it can disconnect from the larger surrounding grid and keep running even when the larger grid experiences interruptions. For remote areas, a microgrid can act as an energy source without a connection to the larger grid.

Additionally, an advanced or smart microgrid allows other local assets in the surrounding area to save energy costs by extending the duration of energy supplies and producing revenue by selling energy back to the market.

Microgrid may help disadvantaged communities near the airport, according to airport official

The initiative in Hyannis would help support the clean energy needs of “disadvantaged” communities living near the airport, Servis said.

“The thought process was, if we were transitioning our buses … to electric fleets, that’s a decreased cost in operating those fleets and perhaps ticket costs would not be the same either,” she said, adding the rides would be more affordable for underserved communities. “Whether it's a transportation vehicle, such as a bus, or an electric aviation aircraft, you're decreasing those greenhouse gasses for underprivileged areas.”

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The initiative will be done in collaboration with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, which will also benefit from the smart microgrid as it begins transitioning to an electric fleet as well, Servis said.

“We joined forces,” she said. “Tom Cahir, the general manager at the RTA, is going to need electric charging for his buses, just as I’m going to need it for my rental cars, my fleet vehicles and future aircraft.”

Officials from the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority were not immediately available for comment.

What are the airport services in the region?

The state Aeronautics Division regulates and promotes aviation across the commonwealth. It oversees 35 of the state’s 38 public-use airports, which includes several other airports on the Cape and Islands such as Provincetown Municipal Airport and Martha’s Vineyard Airport.

Cape Cod Gateway Airport is owned by the town of Barnstable and provides commercial and general aviation services to New York, Boston, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Along with charter aviation services, the airport is home to Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines as well as JetBlue — offering seasonal services to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

“The climate crisis is the commonwealth's greatest challenge, and innovative projects such as this at the airport in Hyannis will move us forward in reaching our greenhouse gas reduction goals while working toward creating a reliable, multimodal, and energy efficient transportation system,” state Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca said in the press release

Walker Armstrong reports on all things transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Plan underway for electric plane, bus use Hyannis airport microgrid