Latest news with #SimonRichards
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Sunshine boon powers Birmingham airport through solar energy
Birmingham Airport has revealed that it is currently generating 100 per cent of peak daytime power requirements with solar energy. In 2024, the Midlands aviation hub invested nearly £10m in a solar farm, featuring over 12,000 panels. It went on to create a further solar installation of 90kWh light-weight solar film on the roof of the North Terminal to maximise solar energy generation. Composed of photoactive material, the thin film helps to improve energy efficiency in the terminal by reflecting light and subsequently reducing heat. Birmingham Airport began its solar energy journey back in 2012 when it first installed panels on the terminal roof. The move towards more sustainable energy sources is aimed at reducing its reliance on the grid and limiting its exposure to market price volatility. Chief finance and sustainability officer Simon Richards said the panels formed part of the airport's plan to hit net-zero carbon by 2033. 'Since switching on our solar array last year, we have saved 1,070 tonnes of carbon from being emitted and have sustainably powered 100 per cent of our required energy during peak conditions on 50 days – a significant reduction in our overall environmental impact,' he said. 'Improving our sustainability credentials, we remain committed to becoming a net zero carbon airport by 2033 and this latest achievement is testament to our ongoing efforts to actively reduce our environmental impacts.' Speaking to the BBC in June, he noted: 'We're an industry that's quite carbon intensive and there's a lot of work going on with airlines to reduce carbon from flying. 'The installation produces around six gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power a year – that's enough to power more than 2,000 homes.' In January this year, Stansted Airport announced it would be the first London airport to install a solar power farm. The new development forms part of a £1.1 billion investment to improve and expand the Essex hub.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Birmingham Airport spends £10m on solar farm to reduce emissions
Birmingham Airport has spent nearly £10m on a solar farm to help reduce its emissions. More than 12,000 panels have been installed on the airport's noise bund - mounds of soil that reduce noise pollution and protect residential areas from aircraft farm produces more than 20% of the airport's power and is enough to reduce its carbon footprint by about 1,000 tonnes a year, the airport finance and sustainability officer Simon Richards said the panels were part of the airport's plan to hit net-zero carbon by 2033. "We're an industry that's quite carbon intensive and there's a lot of work going on with airlines to reduce carbon from flying," he peak sunny times, the 6.8-megawatt farm can generate enough solar energy to fully power the airport. "The installation produces around six gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power a year - that's enough to power more than 2,000 homes," Mr Richards said panels had been also installed on the terminal's rooftops from 2012 to reduce the airport's reliance on the electrical grid. To improve sustainability, it plans to move its heating from gas to electric heat pumps in the future. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
