The first public gas station at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport features a convenience store and drive-thru restaurant and offers large alternative fuels choices.
The O’Hare Travel Plaza at Higgins Road and Patton Drive sells Mobile-branded fuel and include a 7-Eleven c-store and a drive-thru restaurant. The $6 million development was built and is managed for the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) by Petroleum Marketing Group (PMG).
Tec Inc. provided electrical, mechanical, and plumbing engineering services for the site including infrastructure for electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations. The site nearly doubles the number of EV-charging sites at O’Hare International Airport to 41, and supplies airport commuters, transportation providers, commercial vehicles, and fleets with increased access to EV charging.
Tec coordinated the charging station infrastructure design with the manufacturers (Tesla) instructions and requirements for the 1200 AMP superchargers. There were also design accommodations for future installation of two level 2 universal two-way, single phase 6.7 KW chargers.
Similar to PMG’s other airport fueling locations, the O’Hare Travel Plaza features a sustainable design, and is applying for LEED certification. The fuel island’s canopy holds 150 330-watt solar panels, which should generate about 55,000 kilowatt-hours of power per year for an estimated energy savings of $100,000 per year. The panels supply more than half of the retail building’s electricity.