Sustainable energy is touching every aspect of commerce and industry. Earlier this year, the massive new terminal construction project at JFK International Airport in New York City finalized an important detail concerning the sourcing of its power.

In January, the Boston-based, energy-as-a-service provider, AlphaStruxture announced it had been contracted to provide an integrated microgrid infrastructure at the airport’s New Terminal One (NTO). The contract calls for the firm to design, construct and operate the microgrid.

Designed to accommodate increasing international traffic at the airport, NTO will be more than twice the size of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The new 2.4-million-square-foot international terminal will anchor the south side of the airport. It will double the number of gates that currently accommodate wide-body aircraft, with 22 of the 23 new gates designed for larger aircraft key to international travel.

In keeping with the Port Authority’s commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the Terminal’s design will include a number of sustainable energy features. Among those will be the microgrid designed by AlphaStuxture. The 11.34-megawatt (MW) microgrid will give the NTO a new level of resiliency, allowing it to function off-grid during power disruptions. It will also include a 7.66-MW photovoltaic (PV) power system consisting of more than 13,000 solar panels. Those numbers will give it the distinction of being the largest rooftop solar array in New York City and on any airport terminal in the United States.

The microgrid will also consist of 3.68 MW of fuel cells and 2 MW/4 MW-hours of battery energy storage and will use reclaimed heat to generate chilled water and heating for hot water.

The design concept revolves around four “power islands,” with each island functioning as a local, integrated energy system with sources of generation, storage, advanced automation and control.

The NTO project will be built in phases, with the first new gates opening in 2026 and the final nine gates scheduled for completion in 2030. Authorities overseeing the work estimate the NTO project will create 10,000 jobs, including 6,000 in construction.

AlphaStruxure is a joint venture of global investment firm Carlyle and Schneider Electric. Carlyle is financing the microgrid, while Schneider Electric is delivering leading microgrid technology, software and services.