The city of Oneonta Airport Commission discussed the early stages of a potential solar project at the Albert S. Nader Regional Airport on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Council member and liaison to the Airport Commission, Len Carson, R-Fifth Ward, said at the meeting that JK Renewables, a commercial solar installer, proposed establishing a solar array on the airport property. He said Airport Manager Matt Kent and Commission Chairperson Justin Osterhoudt identified some locations that could be suitable for such a project.
Kent said they found 30 to 35 acres, but there are potential feasibility concerns.
“It’s still just an idea at this point,” Kent said. “There is not really much to go on.”
After the meeting, Osterhoudt said that the solar array could offset electric costs at the airport and “back feed the grid,” which would refer to sending energy generated by the solar array back into the electrical grid. He said it would involve a land lease agreement between the city and the company.
Osterhoudt said he did not want to speculate as to whether the airport would move forward with the solar project. Some of the feasibility concerns are related to grid access, specifically whether the project would be able to tie into the Otsego Electric Cooperative grid or if it would need to tie into the NYSEG grid, he said.
“It’s some obstacles as Matt said for them to go through, but obviously we are always looking for new ways of revenue so that the airport can sustain itself,” Carson said during the meeting.
Greg Starheim, who works with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, said it could be worth looking at what the state Energy Resource and Development Authority might be able to offer the airport regarding self-use solar to “offset electric bills.” He added that NYSERDA is a “huge resource encouraging municipal agencies to implement solar themselves for their own use.”
Other business
In other airport business, the commission discussed potentially hosting an AOPA Rusty Pilot Course on May 30, a tentative date. Starheim said it would be an about four-hour presentation which acts as a good refresher for pilots. He added that pilots would receive wings credit from the Federal Aviation Administration, which helps them to “demonstrate continuing education.”
A good crowd for the event would be about 30 to 40 individuals, Starheim said.
“There’s opportunity to network within the pilot community in addition to the AOPA training,” Starheim said.
Some of the host expectations included promoting the seminar locally, providing volunteers to welcome people, hosting the course at an accessible location and providing tables and a projector, among some other factors, Starheim said.
At the start of the meeting, Osterhoudt reviewed a letter the commission received from Justin Miller, a hangar tenant at the airport, who had concerns about the functionality of the hangar doors. Osterhoudt said after the meeting that the doors needed to be replaced, as they are old and “slide hard.”
He said during the meeting that he would write a request to work with City Administrator Greg Mattice to put forth a request for proposal for service work on the lower airport hangars.