Auckland Airport to build giant rooftop solar array

Wednesday, 22 February 2023

Auckland Airport plans to power up its roofs with the country’s largest rooftop solar array on its new Mānawa Bay outlet centre.

The array on the 35,000m² building under construction to the north-east of the airport precinct, would generate 2.3 megawatts of electricity. That was enough to meet the equivalent of 80% of the 100-store mall’s power usage when it opened next year, chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui​ said.

The $300 million transport hub under construction opposite the international terminal would support another solar array of 1.2MW on its 14,000m² roof, enough to power the attached office building and electric vehicle charging stations within the car park, she said.

Solar energy marked the airport’s its first steps into renewable energy generation and a step towards meeting the airport’s target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

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Contact Energy and Christchurch Airport announced earlier this month that they would build, what they said would be one of “the country largest solar farms” capable of generating 290 gigawatts of power a year on a 300 hectare site adjacent to the airport.

Genesis Energy earlier gave the go-ahead for a large solar farm near Lauriston on the Canterbury plains, an hour’s drive south of Christchurch.

Hurihanganui said solar was a good option for Auckland Airport which had many buildings with large flat roofs and high sunlight hours, she said.

“Rooftop solar systems can provide a resilient supply of renewable energy as the airport grows.”

The solar arrays were expected to generate enough energy to power 634 houses a year and avoid about 588 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

Auckland Airport’s current annual power usage was equivalent to 5000 homes and was expected to increase over the next 10 years to the equivalent of 16,000 households as passenger numbers increased, and new terminals were developed.

The company had a target to reduce its emissions by 90% from a 2019 baseline, with the remaining 10% or so through the purchase of certified carbon removals until other alternatives were developed, she said.

“With the airport’s energy demands expected to grow significantly over the next decade, we are looking for opportunities to meet future energy needs with a mixture of on-site and off-site renewable energy sources,” she said.

The planned combined domestic and international jet terminal would also be able to accommodate solar on its roof.

A key consideration for rooftop solar array at an airport was that it did not create glare or reflection on the flight path for pilots or the control tower, Hurihanganui said.