San Diego International Airport has been recognized for its efforts in going green and encouraging sustainable technology. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) acknowledged Lindbergh Field’s efforts by awarding the second-busiest single-runway airport in the world the Region 9 Outstanding Energy Project Award in Sacramento on Feb. 28. The ASCE organization presented the airport with the award after Lindbergh Field’s successful installation of energy-efficient airfield signage, taxiway lights and runway guard lights. The project took about a year and a half to complete, becoming a reality in late 2010. Over the course of the project, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority replaced 119 airfield signs and 410 taxiway edge lights with new, energy-efficient LED lights. San Diego International Airport is the first commercial airport in the nation to install and use LEDs across the airfield. The new lights are helping the airport reduce its carbon footprint, as well as preventing runway accidents, lowering maintenance costs and improving operational safety. The LEDs also use one-quarter of the energy and last 10 times as long as the old lights, which is already saving the airport money. The bills for the airfield, which is on its own meter, drop-ped by an average of $27,000 per month after the project was completed. “This energy award is important because it recognizes how deeply the Airport Authority is committed to its sustainability policy,” said Katie Jones, a spokeswoman for the Airport Authority. “The airfield lighting project was a result of this policy, and shows that we’re doing more than simply recycling. The ASCE feels this is the most significant energy project in the state.”