SPECIAL REPORT: LAND USE
REPORT: LAND DEVELOPMENT
Energy on tap A
éroports de Paris (ADP) hopes that the newly opened geothermal energy plant at Orly will eventually provide one third of its energy needs. ADP has invested €12 million on the plant – including
€3 million provided by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) and the Ile-de-France region – which taps into vast hot water reserves located 1.7 kilometres below the airport site. It is estimated that the plant will reduce Paris-Orly’s CO2
emissions
by 9,000 tonnes per year as geothermal energy is currently being used to heat the gateway’s South and West terminal. Geothermal energy will also be used to heat the planned new Coeur d’Orly
business centre, construction work on which is expected to start shortly. Enthuses ADP CEO, Pierre Graff: “The decision to build a geothermal
plant at Paris-Orly forms part of our commitment to reduce our carbon emissions and develop new, renewable energy sources at our airports. “Orly is lucky in that it benefits from a favourable geological context,
allowing it to exploit geothermal energy from ‘Le Dogger’, a vast 15,000 square kilometre hot-water reserve deep underground.” Geothermal energy has actually been used to heat homes in the
greater Paris region since the 1960s, however, this is the first time the technology has been used at a French airport. Other European airports to have a geothermal power plant on-site today
include Oslo, Zürich and East Midlands. Elsewhere, Calgary International Airport’s planned new $1.4 billion concourse set to open in 2015 will boast geothermal wells for cooling and heating. Other on-site energy initiatives being
developed by airports across the globe include solar and windpower. Boston-Logan possibly provides the most high
profile example of wind power in action courtesy of 20 small wind turbines on the roof of the Logan Office Center.
Joe Bates reports on the growing trend of developing energy sources on airport sites. Each turbine measures approximately six feet in height and
eight feet in width. Combined, these units are expected to produce enough electrical energy to offset approximately 2% of the buildings’ monthly energy use. There are many examples of solar power projects at airports
with an ever-increasing number of gateways installing solar panels on building roofs in a bid to reduce energy bills and become more environmentally friendly. They include Adelaide Airport – whose A$1 million, 760-solar panel
installation at Terminal 1 is the second largest grid-connected rooftop installation in South Australia – and Munich Airport whose system produces 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity yearly. However, Denver International Airport probably leads the way in
terms of land utilisation for solar photovoltaic energy following the opening of three different farms across the airport site. The first $13 million solar power farm opened on a 7.5-acre site
close to the airport’s entrance in 2008 and generates over 3.4 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually. Owned and run by a specialist independent energy company,
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, its annual output amounts to around 50% of the electricity required to operate the train system that runs between the airport’s terminals. In addition to the 9,200 solar panel facility, a 1.6 megawatt (MW) park
was completed in 2009 that generates over 2.7 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, and provides approximately 100 percent of the airport’s fuel distribution and storage system’s electricity consumption. A third solar installation will be completed in
2011 that will be a 4.4MW complex, expected to generate 6.9 million kilowatt-hours of energy. The planned new addition means that the gateway will boast three solar farms spread
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AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2011
Denver International Airport.
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