Melbourne Airport has announced that all of its four terminals will be partly powered by renewable energy once a new solar farm comes online in January 2021.
Said to be the largest project of its kind in Australia, the facility will generate 17GW-hours of electricity per annum, equal to nearly 15% of the airport’s annual electricity consumption. The farm will be constructed by Beon Energy Solutions, with the building work due to be completed by the end of September.
Lorie Argus, Melbourne Airport chief of landside access, utilities and facilities group, said she was proud of the investment in renewable energy which will reduce the airport’s carbon footprint: “With the airport’s electricity demand expected to grow, the construction of our solar farm makes sense for several reasons. The project is expected to deliver significant annualised energy cost savings, a timely benefit with the impacts of Covid-19 wreaking havoc on the aviation industry. We are committed to growing the airport in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable way. This renewable energy project is another chapter in that story.”