CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Transportation electrification is occurring across modes and sectors with implications for various parties, especially the airport community. Airports manage multiple modes of transportation, not just aviation. Airports connect to ground transportation through parking facilities, shuttles, and transit connections. Cargo operations may necessitate the accommodation of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and promote close connections to both marine and rail terminals. In addition, airports use various medium- and light-duty vehicles to support their operations, both airside and landside. Although airports must understand all these electrification efforts, electric vehicle (EV) charging in passenger parking facilities is an area that airports have entered but about which they lack clear information. The objective of this synthesis is to explore the current state of the practice for airports regarding EV charging in their passenger parking facilities. EV charging for passengers or visitors represents a subset of the total electrification efforts but is a key area as EV sales in the United States (and therefore charging infrastructure needs) increase. Although EV charging installations for passenger use have implications beyond the parking facility (e.g., overall electrical capacity and load management as well as the increased workforce needs associated with new equipment), this synthesis focuses on the public-facing EV charging stations. This synthesis does not cover employee parking or other landside and airside charging needs for airports. Other charging use cases warrant their own exploration to determine the current state of the practice and airport experience.

Understanding the EV landscape today is critical to preparing airports for the subsequent electrification and charging needs in their parking facilities. In this report, EV is used as the broad category that encompasses both plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Because both types of EV can use charging equipment, this report reflects the airports’ experience with all EVs. Although PHEVs may be less likely to use public charging facilities to top up their electric range, they can still access and use charging equipment.

ACRP Synthesis 54: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at Airport Parking Facilities (Richard 2014) provided (1) a broad understanding of airports that offered charging, (2) a technology overview, and (3) a review of key business and policy decisions. Since the publication of ACRP Synthesis 54, EV sales have increased and states outside of the West Coast have adopted regulations to promote the transition to electric. Although information and guidance on EV charging has increased in recent years, there is little literature about charging needs at airports. Reports discuss airports in terms of fast-charging hubs, electric aviation, and energy management issues, but have not provided an overview of the airport experience with passenger EV charging. With increases in funding to support investment in charging equipment as well as charging providers willing to partner with commercial property owners, it is important to understand the broad array of challenges and opportunities related to EV charging and airport passenger parking facilities. This synthesis aims to address that gap with a state-of-the-practice review.

In conducting the synthesis effort, the authors did a thorough a review of the literature, including relevant recent reports and guidance, which explored several key topics. These topics included

• Charging infrastructure, including the different charger types, the benefits of networked chargers, and how each charger fits into airport parking needs;
• Charging management, such as data collection and use, demand management, and effective siting;
• Utility and energy issues, which range from coordination requirements to load management and understanding electrical capacity;
• Costs and revenue, which are often closely associated (because cost can drive revenue decisions); costs and revenue address the range of investment costs as well as rate structures; and
• Safety, including the existing national standards and important codes and regulations.

The literature review informed the development of a survey sent to hub airports in the United States. The results of the survey provided an overview of the state of the practice for EV charging within passenger parking facilities. To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities, the authors conducted interviews with six airports of varying size and geographic locations. In the interviews, airports presented their experiences with installing, managing, and maintaining charging equipment at their facilities.

This synthesis report is organized as follows:

• Chapter 1 provides an introduction and overview of the key topics covered in the synthesis.
• Chapter 2 presents an overview of the literature.
• Chapter 3 describes the hub airport experience in terms of the survey results, detailing key trends and findings for each topic.
• Chapter 4 covers more detailed information on the hub airport experience developed through the six case example interviews.
• Chapter 5 concludes the report with a summary of findings and areas for further research.
• References and a section on Terms and Abbreviations are provided.
• The full survey questionnaire and interview framework are provided in Appendix A. Appendices B and C provide detailed documentation of the survey results and the case example interviews, respectively.