Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport advances electric-aircraft planning, cites power and workforce needs

Mark Hanna, executive director of Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, told a Citizens Club of Springfield audience that the airport is positioning itself to host emerging electric and hybrid aircraft and associated infrastructure, from ground chargers to possible vertiport facilities. "We applied for it. We got it," Hanna said of a state planning and research grant that funded a 2.5-year study on advanced air mobility (AAM).

The study, led by Hanson Professional Services' Susan Zellers, projects near-term charging needs that far exceed current airport loads: "We need to be prepared for serving electric commercial aircraft for a 3 megawatt, 30-minute turnaround," Zellers said, and later noted that peak charging scenarios could reach up to about 16 megawatts with long-term energy roughly on the order of 13,000 megawatt-hours per year in some scenarios. For general aviation aircraft, Zellers estimated initial needs near 1 megawatt.

Why that matters: serving several commercial electric aircraft in short succession requires significant local electrical capacity and rapid-response charging infrastructure. The airport has already invested in on-site generation and energy projects, Hanna said, noting a completed 2.88-megawatt solar array that serves north-side facilities and a forthcoming additional array the airport will own. To manage peaks, the study recommends battery energy storage systems (BESS) and charge-management systems to prioritize and sequence charging and to buffer demand.

Utility partnership and capacity: the presenters described close coordination with Citizens' Water, Light & Power (CWLP). Zellers said CWLP offers a dual-feeder supply and cited available capacity figures (about 9 MVA available today, with upgrades to roughly 12 MVA possible), noting that larger growth could require an additional substation or transformer upgrades.

Sites and operations: the study maps potential sites for initial chargers (apron near the fixed-base operator and a terminal-facing BESS for airline charging) and reserves locations for standalone vertiport facilities on the airport's south, west and north sides depending on demand. Zellers said the airport is oriented toward flexible layouts so it can accommodate OEM preferences, training facilities, or manufacturing partners as the market evolves.

Federal and state context: Clayton Stambaugh of the Illinois Department of Transportation framed the airport's work within statewide planning and multistate collaboration. He described an IDOT-funded high-level study that informed a statewide AAM system plan and said the USDOT and FAA have released national planning guidance. Stambaugh noted the need for enhanced low-level surveillance, communications and weather systems as traffic nodes and corridors are defined.

Economic and workforce implications: presenters linked AAM readiness to local economic development. Hanna and others argued that being selected for federal pilot programs could attract OEMs and high-tech jobs, and they described partnerships with Lincoln Land Community College and local employers. "We're ready for this town to boom," Hanna said, adding that the airport has pursued workforce development, internships and partnerships with maintenance and aviation employers in the region.

Open questions and limitations: presenters emphasized that much depends on OEM certification timetables and market adoption. They flagged major engineering and utility lead times for upgrades and said responsibilities for funding specific components (utility upgrades, BESS, substations) will depend on CWLP's ability to justify returns and coordinate investments. Presenters also discussed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) options and on-site fuel storage plans, but clarified that the electrification pathway raises fuel-source and generation questions (coal, gas, hydro, wind, solar) that remain subject to broader energy policy.

Next steps: the airport submitted an application to a USDOT/FAA pilot program and intends to distribute the IDOT-funded study to the MPO and regional planning partners. The presenters recommended adding vertiport opportunities to comprehensive plans and continuing annual reviews of technology and utility capacity.

The Citizens Club question-and-answer session included audience concerns about collaboration with other Central Illinois airports, regional routes (Chicago, St. Louis, Carbondale), workforce impacts, and whether federal backing will continue; presenters said multistate coordination and federal planning documents indicate sustained support but that supply chains, OEM certification and power sourcing remain constraints.