Nashville International Airport Project

An aerial view of an airport terminal at dusk with airplanes parked at gates, cars in the parking lot, and a scenic landscape with water and hills in the background.

This extensive mega project comprised of a total of Eleven Slim Jim® assemblies, each containing multiple Slim Jim® plates, designed and installed specifically for the Nashville International Airport.

2016 Environmental Achievement Award by Industry Association

Conserves 30 Million Gallons of Potable Water Annually

Blue piggy bank with a coin featuring a dollar sign being inserted.
Icon of North and South America in dark blue inside a location pin with a light blue border
A graphic of a hand holding a water droplet inside a circle.
Blue award ribbon with a leaf icon in the center.

Largest Geothermal Pond Loop in North America

Reduces Overall Energy Cost by $430,000 Annually

Slim Jim® assemblies were moved by crane and submerged in the Hoover Rock Quarry. The Quarry has a surface area of approximately 43 acres with an average depth of 150 feet, containing approximately 1.5 billion gallons of water. The Quarry has a constant year-round temperature of approximately 50° Fahrenheit.

The assemblies were also piped in parallel allowing a compact design forming a boxlike structure. Eleven yellow marker buoys mark the location of the individual lake plate assemblies that are submerged in the quarry.

This project takes advantage of the year-round cool temperature of the Quarry water using a closed water recirculation loop.The condenser water from the airport central plant is circulated through the lake plates were where the warm water is cooled by rejecting the waters energy to the cooler water of the quarry. The cooler water is returned to the airport terminal’s central plant chillers providing the cooling for the entire terminal. This eliminates the need for cooling towers and the enormous amount of potable water consumed in their operation.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

A construction site by a body of water with large pipes and a partially built or renovated area. An inset aerial view shows Nashville International Airport (BNA) in Nashville, Tennessee.

IN THE

NEWS

Article: Breaking Ground
Fly Nashville Official Press Release
Article: Smart Energy Decisions
Article: Airport Improvement Magazine
Article: The Tennesseean
Article: Engineering News Record