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Brisbane Airport unveils solar project

written by australianaviation.com.au | September 19, 2017

Brisbane Airport general manager for assets Krishan Tangri in front of the solar panels. (Brisbane Airport)
Brisbane Airport general manager for assets Krishan Tangri. (Brisbane Airport)

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.

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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.

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Comments (9)

  • Peter

    says:

    ” Solar roof panels measuring 11,675 square kilometres” – the actual terminal must be huge. Probably need an Uber to get to the gents room

    • australianaviation.com.au

      says:

      Hi Peter. Apologies for the error. the story has been changed to square metres.

  • dr grumpy

    says:

    feelgood moment but should have done the maths this will increase the airports carbon footprint.

  • JR

    says:

    Yeah right dr grumpy – and the earth is flat too!

  • mike9

    says:

    Dr Grumpy ,, How ?

  • G4george

    says:

    You are right Grumpy, people don’t realise the amount of energy that goes into producing the materials to manufacture a solar panel or a battery and what happens to the battery after it has reached its use by date. to say they leave no carbon footprint is false,.

  • JR

    says:

    No G4george and Dr Grumpy you are wrong. Yes there is a carbon footprint associated with producing solar panels but this is offset in UNDER 2 years of electricity generation from the panel. This leaves on average 28 years of power generation after that footprint ‘debt’ is paid off given an average 30 year lifespan for the panel. Most if not all of the panel and batteries are recyclable.
    It’s very unfortunate that people keep spinning the myth that the energy going into producing the panel is greater (or even anywhere near) the emission free power generation of the panels themselves.
    Check facts people before spinning myths.

  • Knowledge

    says:

    Do you know if the Airport has any panel reflectance risks re planes landing, or are the panels typically non-reflective?

  • Adrian P

    says:

    Should be the norm for airports with their terminal and hangar roofs.

    Opportunity to use electric buses, trucks and aircraft tugs to improve air quality and reduce ambient noise levels.

    Reflectance is a furphy most terminals have glass facades and airports are more than happy to have aircraft take-off and land into the setting sun.

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