An assessment of energy consumption at airports: A case study of Entebbe International Airport (EIA), for the period 2006 to 2016

Abstract

This study assessed the consumption, conservation and strategies for airport energy management at Entebbe International Airport (EIA). EIA is the only gateway to Uganda by air and it is undergoing expansion due to the increased traffic. The airport is currently meeting its obligation of producing and supplying the energy demanded by the stakeholders but more effort is required to reduce that high demand through efficient and effective energy management practices. Literature review was undertaken to identify best practices for energy efficiency in commercial buildings, questionnaires were developed for the airport stakeholders and the former manager aerodrome maintenance. Data was collected from fifty airport stakeholders and it was deduced that there was a positive correlation between total energy consumed at the airport with the total passengers, aircraft movements but negatively correlated with total cargo through the airport. Primary data analysed, showed that energy consumption per occupied floor area was 117.353 Kwh/ Square meter, Terminal energy consumption per terminal floor area was 97.295 Kwh / square meter and the energy consumption per workload unit was 1.348 Kwh/ Passenger. Both the literature review and interview feedback indicated that there was no approved format for reporting energy consumption, energy was not tracked as a performance measure, energy audit was not performed internally nor by an externally contracted firm, no approved energy policy and no program to raise awareness and training to the stakeholders. EIA being on a peninsular, it is well positioned to explore the use of renewable energy technology owing to its high roof surface area relative to total building square footage, it is next to the equator crossing with maximum sunshine and several anaerobic ponds for biogas production. In partnership with Entebbe Municipality, donor community in energy xiv

management and the Ministry of energy and Mineral development, the energy mix can be improved to avoid over dependence on hydro power and diesel for energy supply and production respectively. Ministries (Energy and local government) and utility firms should partner with commercial and industrial building operators to conduct no-cost or low-cost energy audits and provide grants for research or energy efficiency upgrades. Airports in Europe, Asia and United States of America have implemented energy efficient projects and innovated technology which EIA could benchmark to develop its road map for being ISO50001 and ISO 14000 certified as required by Airports Council International (ACI).