Brisbane Airport plans to cut energy consumption and carbon emissions thanks to 22,000 solar panels being installed between now and August 2018.
The panels will be placed at six sites across the airfield and cover an area of 36,000 square metres.
The roof of the international terminal alone will be fitted with 7,133 panels measuring 11,675 square metres, which Brisbane Airport says will be the largest single roof top solar panel installation at an Australian airport.
In total, the system will be capable of generating some 9.3 million kilowatt hours a year.
Brisbane Airport general manager for assets Krishan Tangri said the system would supply 18 per cent of the airport’s direct electricity needs.
Further, the carbon offset from the scheme was the equivalent of planting 50,000 trees or taking 1,500 cars off the road each year.
“We are in the enviable position of having thousands of square metre of un-impeded roof space ideal for solar harvesting and, with systems becoming more efficient and more affordable to install, it makes financial sense to invest in this readily available supply of renewable energy to save costs and decrease our carbon footprint,” Tangri said in a statement on Tuesday.
Brisbane Airport said the design of the system was currently underway, with installation expected to start in December. The company said Epho and Shakra Energy were managing the installation.
