Solar solves Mildura Airport's energy problem

Mildura Airport is the busiest regional airport in Australia, with 217,000 passengers in 2016. Based in the Sunraysia district in far north-western Victoria, the airport was facing an energy problem that could limit its potential for growth and development.

The airport’s main power supply is expensive and comes from the brown coal power stations of the Latrobe Valley, which are 700 km away and incur an average transmission loss of 11%. Located at the end of an old power transmission line, the airport additionally suffers from periodic blackouts and a generally unreliable supply.

General manager Bill Burke said the airport’s energy needs were always seen as a key element in its future development since the previously council-owned facility was corporatised eight years ago. “In looking at the need for our future energy security as part of overall development, we called in a specialist consultant to advise us on our future direction and likely needs,” he said.

Paul Davy of dsquared Consulting, a specialist in sustainable solutions for the built environment, could see that solar was an obvious solution to providing the future energy security for Mildura Airport. This was in no small part due to the fact that the Sunraysia district has among the highest sunlight hours in Australia.

“Trina Solar panels were chosen as a result of our efficiency assessment, particularly as they were the choice of several of the potential suppliers, when we put the contact out to tender,” Davy said.

“Panel efficiency was an important aspect, particularly as the solar panels must have an anti-glare coating to satisfy the requirements of the aviation safety authorities.”

The final installation comprised a 100 kW grid-connected system with 360 Trina Solar 250 W panels on the roof of the terminal building and a further 40 panels on the administration building. In addition, Fronius inverters provide web-based monitoring that shows how much power the solar system is producing, how much is being consumed, how much is going to the grid, the amount of money that is being saved and the extent of the CO₂ that is being saved.

The annual projected energy output has been estimated at 174 MWh/year.