RDU International Airport goes green with LED runway lights
Raleigh Durham International Airport is about to light the way for other businesses in the Triangle when it comes to the embracing of “green” technology.
The Raleigh Durham Airport Authority is moving ahead with plans to install massive light-emitting diode lights on its runways and taixways thanks to financial support from the N.C. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Beginning in July, RDU will start replacing more than 2,000 quartz lights with LED models from Siemens.
According to airport spokesperson Mindy Hamelin, the LED lights make dollars-and-sense as an investment in several ways.
“We know that LED lights help cut energy costs by up to 60 percent,” she said. “This is based on industry research, as well as energy costs reported by other airports.
“One of the biggest benefits as well is the decrease in maintenance costs. Quartz lights require maintenance approximately every six months, while LED lights last more than five years before requiring maintenance.”
On Thursday, the Airport Authority said it had been awarded $2.5 million toward the project by the NCDOT. The airport must match 10 percent of the award.
Earlier, the DOT and FAA awarded RDU some $4.5 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
RDU still needs to raise another $1.6 million, and it is seeking more grants.
Barnes & Powell Electric, which is based in Elm City, is handling the project under terms of a $7.25 million contract it won in May. Work begins next month and will take approximately 11 months.
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