Moi International Airport to get 500kw solar photovoltaic system

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Solarcentury East Africa will install a 500 kiloWatt solar photovoltaic system at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport – that will generate 820,000 kW per hour, per year.

The system will be interconnected to the airport terminal grid, and will prioritise solar power consumption over the grid.

The solar system will enable Moi International Airport to save thousands of dollars per year on grid consumption, for at least 25 years, while reducing aviation carbon emissions.

The project is part of a €6.5 million initiative that is being implemented by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is funded by the European Union – and targets 14 countries to reduce CO2 emissions within the aviation sector.

Solarcentury will also install airport gate electrification equipment, consisting of a mobile electric-powered pre-conditioned air unit (PCA) and an electric power converter – that will provide uninterrupted power to the PCA.

This marks the first airport to have a solar PV system installed in East Africa.

Jane Hupe, the Deputy Director of Environment at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), said the implementation of the “solar-at-gate” projects is a good example of how to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve greater sustainability in the aviation – sector by utilising renewable energy technology.

“There is a great interest from ICAO Member States to embark on these projects and the availability of funding from partners will allow ICAO to support their replication at a global scale,” said Hupe.

Kenya Airports Authority CEO, Mr Jonny Andersen said the expected savings on electricity as well as a reduction in carbon emissions would contribute towards more efficient operations at the Moi International Airport.

Work on the site will take 10 months, and the systems are expected to be generating solar electricity by 2019.

Solarcentury will provide two years of Operations and Maintenance on the system, and will set-up two educational kiosks inside the terminal building – to provide the public with real-time information on power output and carbon emission reductions over system’s life cycle.

Source: African Strategic-Ventures (ASV) & Capitalfm.