New solar park to significantly curb airports’ CO₂ emissions

A new photovoltaic park at Larnaca airport will prevent the emission of over 3,850 tonnes of CO₂ per annum, Hermes Airports said on Wednesday.

The company added that together with their Paphos PV park, some 28 per cent of the two international airports’ energy needs will be covered by solar power.

Transport Minister Alexis Vafiades who on Wednesday inaguarated the Larnaca solar park together with Hermes Airports’ Chairman of the Board of Directors, Christophe Petit, congratulated the company and for helping the green transition of the country.

He also expressed hope that other companies across the island would follow its example.

“We hope that the effort to achieve the targets will not only be made by the government. It cannot be done by the government alone. It has to be an effort where private companies will be involved,” he said.

He noted that everyone must understand that it is a collective effort where everyone takes his or her share of the burden to achieve the targets.

For his part, Petit said that the photovoltaic park is proof of Hermes Airports’ commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, noting that its operation will prevent the emission of more than 3,850 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Meanwhile, a photovoltaic park has been in operation for several months at Paphos airport. Combined, the two photovoltaic parks will cover 28 per cent of the annual energy needs of the country’s two airports, “making a decisive contribution to Hermes Airports’ goal of further reducing its environmental footprint”.

Larnaca Airport’s photovoltaic plant, which was developed on a 36,000 m² area within the airport, is expected to generate 6 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Similarly, the Paphos airport park is expected to produce 1.9 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

The total energy production at both airport photovoltaic parks corresponds to the annual consumption of more than 1,320 households.