Estimating Electrical Energy and Capacity Demand for Regional Electric Flight Operations at Two Mid-Size Airports in Washington, U.S

Abstract

Advances in battery-powered electric motor systems, lightweight materials, and aircraft design have resulted in the development of new battery-electric aircraft that could gradually replace conventional fuel-powered aircraft for certain use cases in the coming years. In the face of tight climate action goals and large airport hubs facing capacity constraints, electric aircraft at regional airports could help respond to increased regional travel demands. Charging these aircraft may be a significant new load on the electric grid serving airports. In this paper, to understand these load impacts, we develop a framework for estimating future energy (annual MWh) and power (average and peak MW) demand for charging battery-electric aircraft at regional airports. We apply our modeling framework to two mid-size case study airports in Washington, U.S: Paine Field/Snohomish County Airport and Grant County International Airport. Our method has three parts: assumptions on flight operations growth, technical feasibility to serve these flights with electric aircraft, and actual adoption of electric aircraft to serve feasible trips. The results reveal that, while electricity demand could rise substantially over time, during the first decade of adoption utility companies are expected to be able to serve the energy and power needs of electric aviation with available capacity at existing substations close to the airports in our case studies.