Alice Springs to shine its solar reputation at airport

Alice Springs’ growing reputation as the solar centre of Australia will soon be evident to every person who arrives by air, when the Alice Springs airport becomes the first airport in Australia to be powered by a large-scale solar power station.

The second of five large-scale iconic projects for Alice Solar City, the Alice Springs Airport solar power station will deliver 600 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the airport; approximately 28% of its demand.

General Manager of Alice Solar City Brian Elmer said: “Alice Solar City has supported and encouraged the development of major ‘iconic’ projects in and around Alice Springs that will play a critical part in our strategy of making Alice Springs a national and international showcase for sustainable living and the use of renewable energy.

“With the airport being one of the biggest users of electricity in Alice Springs, we congratulate them on making such a big commitment to both the town and the environment with this major investment.

“The airport solar power station will complement the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre located two kilometres south on the Stuart Highway and the proposed Ilparpa solar farm which is expected to be announced later this year.”

The power station will be developed by Australian solar developer Ingenero, using 28 SolFocus concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) tracking arrays, measuring eight metres wide and seven metres high.

The total cost of the project is $2.264 million, with $1.132 million provided by the Australian government through Alice Solar City.