What started out as a bright idea and the winning entry in a company competition will now become reality. Work is currently underway to install 500 square metres of solar panels on the facade of Göteborg Landvetter Airport’s newest multi-storey car park. The solar panels are one of many steps in the airport’s efforts to achieve Swedavia’s target of zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.
The solar panels will cover most of the southern façade of Göteborg Landvetter Airport’s newest parking facility. Electricity generated by the panels will be used mainly to supply electricity to the car park, including for lighting and pumps. But in sunny summer periods, some surplus may also be used for electricity in nearby buildings.
“Producing one’s own electricity with the help of the sun and using it on site is one of the most environmentally friendly and resource-efficient ways to generate and consume electricity,” says Jörgen Bergstrand, head of the Technical Department at Swedavia, Göteborg Landvetter Airport.
The suggestion of solar panels on the car park was submitted in Swedavia’s in-house contest “Best concept for renewable electricity generation”, which was announced in the autumn of 2009. Göteborg Landvetter Airport had the winning entry and was awarded a million Swedish kronor to carry out the project. With the prize money and a grant from the local county administrative board, the work is now underway.
Peak power for the car park solar panel system will be 60 kW, and projected electricity generation is 39,000 kWh annually.
Swedavia’s aim is to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions from its airports by 2020. The solar panels are one of many measures in the vigorous environmental work underway at Göteborg Landvetter Airport. Examples of other steps at the airport aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions there include heating airport premises with wood chips and pellets, using only “green” electricity (produced with no carbon dioxide emissions) at the airport, running vehicles in airport operations on LPG or ECP Evolution Diesel (produced in part with renewable raw material) and 100 per cent use of ecotaxis at the airport beginning in 2012.
“The solar panels at Göteborg Landvetter Airport demonstrate our ambition to continually take new steps in our environmental work,” Mr Bergstrand adds.
The work to install the solar panels is expected to be completed by October 31 this year.