A $5.1 million Federal Aviation Administration grant is set to make services at Detroit Metropolitan Airport more efficient and environmentally friendly.
As part of the Voluntary Airport Low Emission (VALE) Program, the airport’s new North Terminal will get energy and climate-control units that will allow planes to stop burning jet fuel while sitting at one of the 26 gates.
The units allow planes to connect with electricity and climate control systems provided by the terminal rather than from the plane’s onboard power systems.
This means planes can power down engines while at the gates and save on costly jet fuel.
It is hoped the new systems will prevent 1.3 billion tons of pollutants from entering the atmosphere over the lifetime of the program, The Detroit News reports.
Murk Hurray, the systems coordinator for Metro Airport told the paper it takes about four days to install a jetbridge outfitted with the new equipment and that 16 of the 24 gates scheduled to open in September currently have the systems.
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