Until now, air traffic has been considered an ecological sin. But at least on the ground, this does not have to be the case, as Vienna Airport now wants to prove. From 2023, the airport will be completely CO2-neutral in its operations. To this end, the airport operator has developed a climate protection strategy that consists of several building blocks.
One third of energy demand is met by solar power
A central element of the climate-neutral operation will be photovoltaics. The airport has already commissioned a 14-hectare solar park in spring 2022. The ground-mounted generator consists of 55,000 solar modules with a total output of 24 megawatts.
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Together with the seven rooftop systems already installed, the plant supplies more than 30 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity per year. On sunny days, this is enough to completely supply the entire airport, including the more than 250 companies at the site, with solar power. In total, over the year, the airport covers about one third of its electricity needs with self-produced solar power alone.
Focus on electric mobility
The electricity is also partly used for mobility at the airport. The operator has purchased a fleet of 350 electric vehicles. These include special vehicles for aircraft handling, mobile passenger stairs and catering vehicles.
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This alone saves the airport about one million litres of diesel fuel every year - including the associated CO2 emissions. To refuel the electric vehicles, the airport operates numerous charge points that are supported by a large flywheel mass storage system. This enables fast charging without putting too much strain on the power grid.
Putting waste heat to good use
For the heat supply, the airport uses industrial waste heat generated in the refinery of the Austrian energy company OMV in Vienna-Schwechat. This waste heat is fed into a direct pipeline to the airport and completely supplies the 150 buildings. This alone saves the airport 21,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.
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The concept also includes the sustainable operation of the Office Park in the centre of the airport grounds. This is heated and cooled entirely with geothermal energy. For this purpose, 450 energy piles were sunk into the ground, which act as a heat source for the heat pumps. In addition, control software developed by the Vienna University of Technology for smart cities has been integrated to enable additional electricity savings. (su/mfo)
