Dublin Airport chiefs unveil ‘big shift’ move with new 28-acre construction site

MORE than 10 per cent of Dublin Airport’s current annual electricity needs will soon be provided by a new 9MWp solar farm under construction on the airport campus.

Daa made the announcement today while welcoming Jack Chambers, Minister of State for Transport, on a visit to the 28-acre site located close to the south runway and visible from the R102.

Some 11,000 solar panels have been installed to date by Enerpower, one of Ireland’s leading providers of renewable energy solutions, with a total of 15,000 overall to be installed by the end of September.

Once completed and commissioned this autumn, the solar farm is expected to generate 7.46GWh per annum, which is 11.8 per cent of Dublin Airport’s annual consumption and the equivalent of powering approximately 1,600 houses for a year.

This is sufficient to cover the electricity needs of the entire airfield, with excess electricity contributing to the energy needs of the airport terminals and campus.

Minister Chambers said: “I am very pleased to have been able to visit the new solar farm today at Dublin Airport and see firsthand how Dublin Airport is embracing sustainable energy practices in order to meets its commitment to reducing its emissions by 51 per cent by 2030.

“The energy produced by the farm every year will be enough to power more than 10 per cent of the airport’s electricity needs or the equivalent of 1,500 homes, which gives an indication of the scale of this project.

“Daa has a very ambitious programme of decarbonisation and the development of this solar farm is a key part of that programme to reduce its emissions in line with commitments under the National Climate Action Plan.

“I want to commend Daa and everyone involved in the initiative, and I look forward to work on the solar farm being completed in the autumn at which point the energy generated by the farm will be sufficient to cover the needs of the whole airfield.”

Andrea Carroll, Daa Group Head of Environmental Sustainability, added: “The scale of this project marks a sizeable investment in future energy at Dublin Airport and a big shift away from fossil fuels.

“Solar energy is just one of the projects we are evaluating to reduce the direct emissions of our airport operations.

“As a key part of the aviation industry, we will continue to do everything that we can to make our airports sustainable for now and the future, and to support initiatives reducing emissions across the industry.”