11-11-2008

Sustainable generation of 25% of the total energy needs of Schiphol Airport could be made possible by using grassland and roofs for solar energy

Advice from NGPF: Schiphol can become the largest solar energy power station in the Netherlands

The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation, the scientific bureau of the Party for the Animals, has issued a recommendation to Schiphol Airport with respect to the use of grassland next to the runways and the roofs of cargo buildings.
The grassland, which currently attracts birds that could potentially collide with aircraft, could be used to house solar panels. Such solar energy schemes have already been implement at other airports, such as Denver International Airport in the US. In so doing, Schiphol could become the largest solar energy power station in the Netherlands and one of the most environmentally friendly airports in the world.

With an investment of 250 million Euros, a 50 MW solar energy power station could be built, which could generate 40 GWh annually. This is 25% of the total energy requirements of the airport. According to the Schiphol Climate Plan, the airport claims to want to meet at least 20% of its own energy needs by 2020 using sustainable energy sources.

Another advantage of replacing grassland with solar panels is that the airport will be made far less attractive to birds, which are now instead hunted and shot. The safety of air traffic can thus be combined with the institution of an animal and environmentally friendly measure. The shooting of birds at and around Schiphol can be brought to an end. At present, many birds are killed in and around Schiphol.

Further to this, the agricultural land adjacent to the airport is extremely attractive to large numbers of birds that fly directly over the runways. This particularly applies to the Polderbaan runway. This exacerbates the problem. The regulations of the aviation authorities in, for example, the United States, prohibit agricultural activities closer than 3 km around an airport. Because the Netherlands does not have such rules, more birds are attracted to the vicinity of the airport than is desirable or would be permissible elsewhere. This means that air safety is unnecessarily compromised by the birds’ presence. This agricultural land could also be used for the generation of solar energy, which could make the airport safer and more environmentally friendly than it is at present.

The recommendations for Schiphol can be downloaded here.