COURTESY HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
More than 4,200 solar panels have been installed on top of the Terminal 1 parking garage at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport providing sustainable energy and covered parking.
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There’s more public parking — and more renewable energy —
at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport after the installation
of 4,260 solar photovoltaic
panels at the Terminal 1 parking garage was completed Friday.
The work began Aug. 20, and now done, the state Department of Transportation was able to
reopen 346 parking stalls on
the seventh level of the garage, where the panels also are providing shade for parked vehicles.
The solar energy generated by the system will be used throughout the airport, and when combined with other conservation measures will reduce the facility’s electric bill by nearly half, according to DOT.
Installation of nearly 3,000 more solar panels will start in January on the fifth level of the Terminal 2 parking garage (formerly the
overseas terminal).
DOT said its $207 million
contract with Johnson Controls Inc. for various energy-saving
improvements at Hawaii
airports is being financed from guaranteed energy savings, not taxpayer funding.
The projects, which began
in 2014, include replacing 98,000 light fixtures with high-efficiency, light-emitting diode technology and energy-efficient lighting,
upgrading ventilation and
air-conditioning systems and
installing more than 24,000 solar photovoltaic panels.
DOT said it expects more
than $600 million in guaranteed cost savings over the 20-year life of the contract.