The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority has received a $2.5 million grant offer from the N.C. Department of Transportation's Division of Aviation. The Airport Authority board accepted the grant offer today at its monthly meeting. The grant will partially fund the replacement of more than 2,000 runway and taxiway lights with energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) fixtures.
The state grant requires the Airport Authority to match 10 percent of the total grant offer.
The grant offer follows an announcement by the DOT and FAA that RDU would receive $4.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to fund the lighting project. The total project cost will be approximately $8.6 million.
The Airport Authority has applied for additional federal grant money to fund the remainder of the project.
The Airport Authority project includes the transition from conventional quartz fixtures to FAA-approved LED fixtures. LED fixtures are proven to be more efficient than quartz, reducing energy costs by up to 60 percent and eliminating time-consuming maintenance.
The Airport Authority awarded the project last month to Barnes & Powell Electric Company for an initial contract of $7.25 million. Work on the project begun in July and is scheduled to be completed in May 2010.
