Athens Airport road to Sustainable Development
The photovoltaic park produces 2/3 of the electricity required from clean, renewable sources within the airport fence
The largest self-production facility in Greece is at the Athens International Airport
The new 16-megawatt photovoltaic park for self-production – self consumption purposes was inaugurated at the Athens International Airport. It is the largest self-production facility in Greece, and it is already producing approximately 45% of the electricity the Airport Company consumes on an annual basis. The electricity produced annually, approximately 27,500 megawatt-hours, is equivalent to the consumption of 6,650 households.
The operation of the new 16-megawatt facility will avoid the emission of 71,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the environmental benefits of a forest the size of the airport’s property (16 million square meters).
The project is part of Athens International Airport’s dynamic sustainable development strategy and environmental responsibility and, in particular, to its “Route 2025′ initiative announced in 2019, representing a total investment on the order of approximately 100 million Euro.
In parallel, this investment and the Route 2025 programme are tangible evidence of Athens International Airport devotion and commitment, as a pillar of our city’s tourism product, for our contribution to the promotion of Athens not only as a top tourism destination, but also as a leading destination that’s sustainable for both the city’s residents and visitors.
Together with the airport’s first photovoltaic park – 8 MW – that’s been in operation since 2011 (which provides its clean electricity to the national grid), the new 16 MW for self-production purposes produces 2/3 of the electricity required by ATH from clean, renewable sources within the airport fence. This puts Athens International Airport at the leading edge of airports in Europe and worldwide, if not in the pole position.
When the next phase of the project is completed in 2025, which is estimated to be an additional 45 MW, ATH will have secured the production of all the electricity it needs on an annual basis through 2046 (airport concession), maximizing self-consumption through the use of battery storage. ATH has already submitted the relevant applications to the Regulatory Authority for Energy and other pertinent Authorities.
The CEO of Athens International Airport, Yannis Paraschis, stated: “The new 16-megawatt photovoltaic park, which we are inaugurating today with a great deal of satisfaction, constitutes tangible evidence of our devotion and commitment to the ambitious target of zeroing out our carbon dioxide emissions by 2025 which we announced in December 2019.
Despite the extremely grave conditions faced by our industry the last three years, during which we were awaiting the formation of the framework for self-production and storage (of energy), which was only recently concluded, we proceeded with the phased implementation of the project in order not to lose time with regard to our strategic target, “Route 2025”.
Our efforts and our persistence were rewarded and today we are happy to be inaugurating the largest self-producing (photovoltaic) facility in Greece, an investment that strengthens with its significant footprint the identity of Athens as a sustainable destination.”
60% reduction in ATH’s CO2 footprint since 2005
Between 2005 and 2021, ATH has achieved a reduction in its carbon footprint of more than 60% (from 67,001 to 27,641 tonnes CO2) despite the significant increase in passenger traffic (over the same period), through a series of interventions in the operation of its infrastructure.
The only carbon neutral airport in Greece since 2016
ATH is the only airport in Greece to have been certified as Carbon Neutral in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program of Airports Council International Europe (ACI-Europe), a certification it has maintained since 2016.
The “Route 2025” target
In 2019, Athens committed to achieving Net Zero Carbon emissions without offsetting by 2025, well in advance of the target of 2050 announced by Europe’s airports (earlier in 2019). Athens airport’s extremely ambitious target “Route 2025” aims to self-produce energy onsite cleanly using photovoltaics for self-consumption purposes, covering 100% of its needs for electricity, which corresponds to approximately 90% of the company’s carbon footprint.