Crookedstone Road solar

4.8MWdc powering Belfast International Airport

In 2016, Lightsource bp signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Belfast International Airport for what was then the largest solar project to connect to a UK airport.

Lightsource bp hard-wired a 4.84MWp (Megawatts peak) off-site solar farm into the Belfast International Airport private network – providing 27% of the airport’s annual electricity demand. The project was funded, installed and is now operated by Lightsource bp, with Belfast International Airport buying the clean electricity produced by the solar farm. After the first ten months of operation, Belfast International Airport announced savings of over £100,000, making a major impact on the airport’s cost base.

By hardwiring the solar farm directly into the airport, Lightsource bp has provided it with a source of renewable energy, reduced energy costs and boosted its green credentials by saving 2,345 tonnes of carbon emission each year. At certain peak generation times, the airport has run on solar power alone for almost nine hours.

A PPA enables Lightsource bp to finance and develop utility-scale solar and energy storage solutions. Locating them on land near to major energy users such as factories, warehouses, data centres, transport hubs, leisure centres, chemical plants and water treatment facilities.