Energy efficiency in medium-scale airports: Two Mexican airports as case of study

Reducing energy consumption in the operation of airports has been identified as one of the approaches to achieve the commitments of the countries in reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The first step in this approach is the development of an energy diagnostic. However, multiple practical aspects remain unresolved when applying the existing methodologies to perform energy diagnostics, especially in the case of small and medium-scale airports. Seeking to address these issues, this work presents energy diagnostics of two Mexican international airports so that it can be used to carry out energy diagnostics in other airports with similar characteristics. Emphasis is given to identifying and prioritizing, from a sustainable point of view, the strategies to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. The Ciudad del Carmen Airport (CME) is located in a nearshore region with high ambient temperatures (27 °C) and humidities. It was found that in 2019, the CME airport consumed 123 MWh with an average of 577 Wh per passenger, with the HVAC system being the primary energy consumer. Critical strategies for the CME airport include photovoltaic systems and HVAC renovation. In contrast, the Puebla airport (PBC) is located in a region with comfortable ambient conditions (16 °C). In 2019, the PBC airport consumed 61.31 MWh/year and 442 Wh per passenger. The main strategies for PBC include expanding its photovoltaic energy generation system, employee awareness programs, and renewing the vehicle fleet with electric vehicles.