New solar farm to provide 10% of Dublin Airport’s electricity

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

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

A total of 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.

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.

Once completed and commissioned this autumn, the solar farm is expected to generate 7.46GWh per annum, which is 11.8% 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.

This renewable energy source will help Dublin Airport meet its commitment to reduce its direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 51% by 2030, which aligns with the public sector targets set as part of the National Climate Action Plan, and ultimately towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Dublin Airport’s capital investment plan, together with the Infrastructure Application submitted to Fingal County Council in December 2023, identify a suite of projects that will provide sustainability benefits with investments totalling €400 million.

The airport notes that it also continues to work with its aviation and transport partners to find ways to reduce carbon emissions (Scope 3) which are outside of Dublin Airport’s direct control. These emissions emanate from many sources including aircraft flight emissions and passenger transport to and from the airport.

Dublin Airport is supporting its airline customers’ exploration of sustainable aviation fuels and the possibilities of hydrogen and electricity powered flight. It is also supportive of ambitious public infrastructure projects including MetroLink and BusConnects, which will reduce passenger emissions as they travel to and from Dublin Airport.

Vincent Harrison, daa’a chief commercial and development officer, said: “Ireland is a small, open island economy and aviation has been an essential engine of our economic growth and prosperity for more than 80 years. The challenge now is to transform into a zero-carbon industry as quickly as possible, while continuing to meet our mandate to support Ireland’s connectivity needs.

“While the aviation industry doesn’t have all the answers yet, daa is committed to halving the emissions under its direct control and today’s announcement is further evidence of the progress we are making. We have allocated €400 million to innovative sustainability initiatives and look forward to announcing more ambitious projects.”