Dublin Airport has committed to a significant expansion of its onsite solar farm, resulting in more than 20% of the airport’s annual electricity needs coming from renewable solar energy by 2030.
The airport’s operator daa made the announcement today at the official opening of Phase 1 of Dublin Airport’s solar farm by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien.
Phase 1 saw the installation of more than 15,000 solar panels by Greenvolt Next, one of Ireland’s leading providers of renewable energy solutions, on a 28-acre site located close to the south runway and visible from the R102. The solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are a clean and renewable energy source, converting sunlight directly into electricity using PV cells and emitting no greenhouse gases or pollutants.
Now operational, the 9MWp solar farm is expected to generate 7GWh to 9GWh per annum dependent on weather conditions, which is 10% – 13% of Dublin Airport’s annual consumption. 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.
Today’s announcement of a commitment to Phase 2 will see the airport campus further reduce its impact on the national electricity grid as part of a wider pipeline of renewable energy projects. Subject to planning permission, Phase 2 envisages the staged deployment of an additional 6,000 solar panels by late 2027. This is sufficient to fully power the baggage systems in Terminals 1 and 2 and means a further 4% – 6% of the annual electricity needs of Dublin Airport will come from renewable energy generated onsite.
A feasibility study to identify the best location on the airport campus for Phase 2 will be completed by the end of April. Dublin Airport is also developing a longer-term solar roadmap to include further phases of the solar farm and allow Dublin Airport to meet its 2030 target of 20% of electricity coming from renewable sources.
Welcoming the development, Minister O’Brien said: “I’m delighted to officially open Dublin Airport’s solar farm. Investing in renewable solar energy and exploring the potential of geothermal sets Dublin Airport up for the future and helps the airport meet its commitment to reducing its emissions by 51% by 2030. Dublin Airport’s announcement today of its commitment to expanding its solar farm is very welcome.”
Andrea Carroll, daa Group Director of Sustainability, said: “daa has a very ambitious programme of decarbonisation. Phase 1 of our solar farm is now operational and Phase 2 will expand the renewable electricity output. Generating and using renewable energy is a key part of the programme to reduce emissions in line with commitments under the National Climate Action Plan. We’re excited to also be in the early stages of exploring ‘the heat beneath our feet’ to see if geothermal heating is an option for Dublin Airport and will update on this later in the year.”
Vincent Harrison, daa Chief Commercial and Development Officer, said: “Investing in solar reduces Dublin Airport’s reliance on the national electricity grid and boosts our onsite energy generation capabilities. Continuing to invest in modernising Dublin Airport so our terminals and airfield operations are as sustainable as possible is a key part of our €2 billion Infrastructure Application, which also asks to increase the passenger cap to 40 million a year. As the recent power issues at Heathrow showed, ensuring critical national infrastructure has resiliency in the event of power disruption is essential to avoid significant knock-on impacts. We will continue to invest in sustainability and infrastructure projects that set Dublin Airport up for the long term.”
