The Vienna International Airport has recently completed building Austria's largest solar power plant. The plant covers 24 hectares, includes over 50,000 solar

panels and has a peak capacity of 24 MW. Initially it will be able to cover a third of the airport's energy needs. The airport has previously implemented a

district heating scheme using waste heat from its nearby refinery plant and is also planning to move its entire fleet to electromobility. All these measures

support the airport's transition to carbon neutrality.

Vienna plans to become carbon neutral by 2040, 10 years earlier than the EU goal. Transportation infrastructure and particularly airports are among the most

challenging sectors for decarbonisation. The Vienna International Airport is leading the way with a goal to make its operations carbon neutral by the end of

2023. This ambition requires swift transition and strategic investment to alternative energy solutions.

Vienna International Airport has recently completed the development of a 24-hectare solar power plant with over 50,000 solar panels. The size of this

installation makes it the largest solar power plant in Austria. The plant's peak capacity will be 24 MW peak and it will have an annual production of 30 GWh.

The investment is worth EUR 20 million. Upon start-up, the airport will operate 8 PV units and produce ~30 kWh of electricity, which will allow it to meet

almost a third of its energy needs. This development compliments a series of other measures that the airport has taken to decarbonise; waste heat from its

nearby refinery is used in a district heating scheme that supplies heat to the airport and its ~150 buildings.

The airport is planning to expand the solar installation by adding solar power panels on seven more hectares and produce more electricity than it needs for

the airport’s buildings and services. The airport has also been gradually switching its vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. All of these measures support the

airport's energy transition and bring it closer to its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2023.

Photo by Peter Müller on Flickr.