This Romanian airport has the ambition to become energy independent through solar energy

Iași Airport is the third largest in the country

Romania’s Iași Airport is set to become completely energy independent thanks to the planned expansion of its ground-mounted photovoltaic park. It is located in the north-east of the country and is the third-busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers.

The news was announced by the facility’s director, Romeo Vatră, who wrote last weekend that the airport had managed to submit all the necessary documentation in time before the application deadline at the end of August. The application in question concerns the financing request to the Modernization Fund, which will pay a grant of 1 million euros for the project.

The total cost of expanding the solar park amounts to three million euros, the rest will be financed from Iași Airport’s own resources.

“The two parks will help the airport become energy independent by using green energy“, said Romeo Vatră, quoted by Bursa.ro.

Own power capacity increased fivefold

There is already a solar park on the grounds of Iași Airport. It is expected to have a capacity of 1 MWh and will be in operation since autumn 2023. However, the planned expansion is more ambitious.

The new photovoltaic park will have 5 MWh and will cover an area of ​​five hectares with solar panels. There will also be 2 MWh in battery storage.

With the combined power generation capacity of the two parks, airport management hopes to achieve true and sustainable energy independence.

The first fully energy independent airport in the world is Pittsburgh International Airport (USA), which received this status in the summer of 2021. However, this facility relies on both solar energy and natural gas wells drilled on its premises. The latter means that its energy independence is not “green”.

Iași International Airport is the gateway to the eastern region of Moldova. It was founded in 1926 and is connected to numerous destinations, mainly in Europe.