LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An underground geothermal field is now live at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
The geothermal field is the largest at any airport in the country. The system will help naturally heat and cool the terminal by circulating water through the geothermal wells underground. This allows the earth to help reduce the energy required to regulate temperatures above ground inside buildings.
In warmer months, water will flow through pipes in the terminal and absorb heat. That water will then be pumped out to the geothermal wells, where it will naturally cool hundreds of feet below ground, before returning into the terminal and producing cooler air.
In the winter, the process is essentially reversed with cooler water at the surface being pumped and warmed underground before returning to the terminal as hot air.
“Beyond the overall innovation of this project, it further confirms our commitment to providing best-in-class facilities for our passengers, while also being an industry leader in reducing carbon emissions and saving energy," Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, said in a news release Tuesday. "This is a win-win any way you look at it.”
This part of the project took about two years to complete and cost nearly $22 million. Airport officials said, when fully completed, the airport will save $400,00 annually in utility costs and reduce its carbon footprint.
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