In unprecedented project, ANAC signs agreement to implement runways with sustainable energy at airports in the North

The National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) signed, on April 18, with VINCI Airports the first specific term of admission in a regulatory sandbox, enabling the implementation of a lighting system for taxiways, landings and take-offs, with individual sources of photovoltaic energy.

With unprecedented use in civil aviation, the technology will be implemented and tested at the airports of Tabatinga and Tefé, both in Amazonas. The novelty consists in the use of primary sources of energy for nighttime lighting. Instead of the runway lighting system being connected to an electrical current, each point will have its own power supply, reducing the chance of several points going out simultaneously, in case of a power supply discontinuity. Therefore, night operations become safer because the beaconing will remain visible to the pilot.

The regulatory sandbox, a specific and conditioned authorization granted by regulatory agencies, was instituted to enable the adoption of innovative solutions by companies, new technologies that are not yet supported by the current regulations. The project is the first signed by ANAC after the publication of Decree 10,219, dated January 9, 2023, which instituted this new tool in the scope of airport infrastructure (available only in Portuguese).