New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York Power Authority have started construction of New York State’s largest onsite solar plus storage project -- a solar carport canopy at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Once operational, the solar carport project will generate electricity to help power the AirTrain and to reduce electricity costs for residents of low-income neighborhoods in Queens. The JFK solar carport will be erected as a canopy, providing the added benefit of covered parking for 3,000 vehicles.
The Port Authority, in partnership with the New York Power Authority, has contracted TotalEnergies to build and operate the JFK International Airport solar project. The solar carport will generate approximately 12 megawatts of onsite power and will include a 6-megawatt community solar generation facility.
The project will also include 7.5 megawatts of battery storage that will be used to help reduce airport energy use during peak periods.
Hochul cited the JFK solar carport and battery storage project in her 2024 State of the State message as an example of New York’s transformative infrastructure projects.
The project will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will deliver energy to the airport starting in March 2025. Phase 2 is the community solar project and will deliver energy to Con Edison for the surrounding community beginning in April 2026.
Through the NYS Community Distributed Generation Program, the project will provide guaranteed electric bill savings for 25 years to historically disadvantaged and environmentally impacted households.
A variety of solar projects are currently in operation across Port Authority facilities, including a 5-MW solar parking canopy at Newark Airport, a 1.5-MW rooftop solar array on LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B garage, and a 600-kilowatt solar roof on a PATH warehouse rooftop. Additional solar projects are planned at JFK airport, where construction of a new Terminal 1 and a new Terminal 6 will include rooftop arrays of solar panels that will generate power at the airport.
NYPA is also implementing a $4 million project for the Port Authority that includes the installation of energy efficient LED fixtures throughout the airport’s Hangar 19 and the replacement of the AirTrain’s track heater controls that will allow Port Authority to remotely monitor and control track heaters at every AirTrain station, including at the Jamaica station in Queens.
