The largest photovoltaic system in Austria has been put into operation on the site of Vienna-Schwechat Airport. This has an area of ​​24 hectares and is intended to supply the airport and around 250 local companies with electrical energy when there is sunlight.

With a total of eight PV systems and an energy output of more than 24 MW/peak, the airport will in future generate more than 30 million kilowatt hours of solar power per year, covering a third of the annual electricity consumption of the airport and the more than 250 companies located there.

Austria's largest photovoltaic system, consisting of 55.000 solar panels, has successfully started trial operation and is currently already producing more than 24 kilowatt hours per day on around 300.000 hectares. Together with the seven rooftop PV systems, Vienna Airport covers the entire power consumption of the airport on sunny days. Viewed over the entire year, about a third of the annual electricity consumption is covered by solar energy, more than 30 million kilowatt hours are generated per year. This corresponds to the power consumption of around 7000 households.

"The consistent implementation of our environmental and energy-saving campaign over the past 10 years is now bearing fruit, the new photovoltaic system is another decisive step: As a pioneer among airports, we will be running our entire operations CO2023-neutral as early as 2, including those at the airport supply the more than 250 companies located there with solar power. We have invested more than €30 million in the PV systems alone, and roughly the same amount went into the other projects. We are thus making a concrete and important contribution to climate protection in Austria. Around 60.000 tons of CO2 per year are saved through our CO2-neutral operation, proof that we live climate protection responsibility. In 2022, the PV system will be expanded by a further 7 MW peak in order to produce more solar power even on days with less sun. The next step will then be our own production of hydrogen as an energy storage medium," says Günther Ofner, CEO of Flughafen Wien AG.

“Although aviation causes only a small part of global CO2,7 emissions at 2%, it assumes responsibility here: Vienna Airport is consistently reducing its CO2 emissions with photovoltaics, e-mobility and new technologies to improve energy efficiency. However, the greatest opportunity for climate protection lies in synthetic fuels. The technology exists - but in addition to mandatory additions, investments in research and development are also needed to create production capacities and business models. The earmarking of the flight tax for SAF projects would be an important step in this direction,” states Julian Jäger, CEO of Flughafen Wien AG.

Vienna Airport operates eight photovoltaic systems

With an area of ​​24 hectares on the edge of the airport area, the new PV system is the eighth at the airport - and the largest open-space system in Austria. Around 55.000 PV panels deliver an output of around 24 megawatts peak. Since 2016, Vienna Airport has operated seven photovoltaic systems on the roofs of Hangar 7, the old winter service hall, the Air Cargo Center, on the site of the former sewage treatment plant, the new Office Park 4 and on the roofs of multi-storey car parks 3 and 8. Other systems are already being planned.

With all eight systems, Vienna Airport will generate more than 30 million kilowatt hours of electricity - this roughly corresponds to the electricity consumption of around 7000 households per year. Calculated over the year, the airport will cover around a third of its electricity requirements with solar energy. On sunny days, enough solar electricity is generated to completely supply the entire airport system with electricity. With this and with the CO2-neutral district heating supply, Vienna Airport reduces its CO2 emissions by around 60.000 tons per year, and by 2023 the airport will be running its entire operation CO2-neutral.

Numerous other measures for sustainability and energy efficiency

In addition to photovoltaics, Vienna Airport takes numerous other climate protection measures: The airport operates an electric fleet with currently more than 380 electric vehicles. The lighting systems are gradually being converted to energy-saving LED systems. Office Park 2020, which went into operation in 4, uses geothermal energy and has received several awards as the most sustainable office building in Austria. A smart city control software developed jointly with the Vienna University of Technology supports the energy optimization of existing and future buildings. The commitment of aviation to more climate protection is great, in fact, aviation's share of global CO2 emissions is small: Globally, aviation is only responsible for around 2,7% of CO2 emissions. Within Europe, the share is 0,52% and in Austria only 0,16%.