Birmingham Airport says it will save 22 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year with the installation of 200 solar panels on the roof of its terminal.
The panels, which were fitted in December, will generate 40,000 kWh of energy a year, sufficient to power 12 average sized houses, the airport said.
The installation was done in just over six weeks by energy company Npower and Reading-based Photon Energy.
The 50kpw solar photovoltaic (PV) system captures the sun’s energy using photovoltaic cells which convert the sunlight into electricity to provide renewable green energy on-site as the airport reduces its dependency on mains power electricity.
Paul Kehoe, the Airport’s CEO, said: “Managing our greenhouse gas emissions is a high priority for the company and we’re always seeking new opportunities to work with partners to reduce our carbon footprint.”
Graham Ryott, development manager at Npower, added: “Birmingham is understandably a large energy user but supplementing its energy use with on-site generation is a positive step for the site’s future.
“An added incentive of solar PV is the Government’s Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs), which provides payment to companies for every unit of electricity generated by solar PV panels.”
This is the first renewable energy and zero carbon installation on the airport site and is part of a wider project to improve its energy management.
