Cache County airport wins conditional $550,000 electrification grant; board maps charger site and timelines

Airport staff told the Cache County Airport Authority Board that a conditional $550,000 grant award from the Electrification of Utah program would fund part of an electric-aircraft rapid-charging station, with the airport covering the balance needed to complete the project.

Paul (speaker 6), who presented the grant update, said the airport applied to a $2,000,000 program and “we were granted $550,000,” and that the award is conditional on documenting electrical capacity and related upgrades. He told the board the project requires verification that the airport’s electrical infrastructure can handle the load and may require a new transformer or switchgear; documentation must be provided to the grant administrator by May 1.

Paul outlined a proposed charger location on the ramp adjacent to the historic tower and Utah State University’s dispatch area, a largely unused portion of pavement. He said the electric airplane that has visited Logan would pull up to that spot to charge and that a full charge takes under an hour; Paul estimated a full charge costs about $30.35. “We want to have all the squirrels figured out … and how this is gonna work,” he told the board as he described an 18-month timeline from start to finish.

Board members repeatedly asked that staff check with nearby users before finalizing the site. One member asked Paul to confirm whether Utah State University or the fixed-base operator (FBO) had concerns about locating the charger near their operations; Paul agreed to consult those stakeholders and circulate a report to the chair.

In the same operations update Paul reported airport activity and an unrelated grant application. He said the airport logged nearly 11,000 operations in January and estimated the airport’s annual economic impact at about $16 million to the local area. Paul also said he submitted a RAPS grant application to purchase a new double-walled Avgas fuel tank to replace the airport’s current tank, which was installed in 1980 and whose single-wall construction and proximity (about 20 feet) to a nearby canal create a spill risk that could reach the Cutler Waterway and the Great Salt Lake.

Paul said the RAPS grant would fund a larger, double-walled, self-serve tank and that the application is under review.

What happens next: staff will confirm electrical capacity, document upgrade needs and stakeholder concerns, and circulate a written report to the chair. If the final site changes, staff said they will notify the grant administrators; Paul noted the conditional grant approval was based on the current proposed location.