Chattanooga airport leads sustainability; pressure on others grows

Sustainability and environmental responsibility are clearly mainstays in the global aviation industry and many airports worldwide are making changes to reduce their environmental footprint, anticipating the added benefit of reducing costs.

Solar panels are becoming more commonplace at airports and in the US, Chattanooga airport has reached a major milestone in becoming the first airport in the country to run completely on renewable energy from solar panels.

This is a significant development, and Chattanooga seems to have addressed some of the unique challenges that airports face as they evaluate adding or expanding their use of solar panels, including the issue of glint and glare problems for pilots.

It could be some time before other airports in the US follow Chattanooga's lead as airports located in larger metro areas may face space constraints in installing enough solar panels to replace the use of electricity completely.

But Chattanooga could offer lessons to other airports, which will increasingly become included in renewable energy schemes adopted by their respective municipalities.