Farnborough Airport completes one of South’s largest solar installations

Farnborough Airport has completed one of the largest lightweight solar installations in the South East, enabling it to generate 25 per cent of its own power.

The eight-month project has seen more than 4,000 panels mounted on the airport’s curved hangar roofs, terminal building, control tower and 169-room hotel, the Aviator Hampshire.

The installation will provide over 1.2 GWh of clean energy every year and is expected to offset more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime as Farnborough Airport seeks to become carbon neutral by 2030.

It was carried out by solar provider Solivus, which builds lightweight panels suitable for structures like aircraft hangars that can’t take the weight of traditional solar.

Simon Geere, CEO of Farnborough Airport, said: “In line with our ambition to become a sustainability showcase for airports around the world, we’re proud to have partnered with Solivus to install one of the largest rooftop solar projects in the region.

“The solar installation is a significant step towards achieving our sustainability objectives, significantly reducing our controllable emissions.”

Jo Parker-Swift, CEO of Solivus, added: “Rooftop solar is crucial for decarbonising the built environment, but its application has often been constrained by the structural limitations of many commercial buildings.

“Put simply, traditional solar panels are too heavy for many rooftops.

“Our lightweight solar innovation addresses this issue, enabling large-scale, cost-effective solar deployment across nearly all large commercial buildings and sites.

“We’re proud to have worked with Farnborough Airport to ensure the future supply of renewable energy, supporting the airport’s progressive net zero emissions journey.”

This marks the latest step on the airport’s net zero roadmap, having achieved Carbon Neutral 3+ status in 2018 and begun offering sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to all customers in 2021.