Las Americas international airport in the Dominican Republic now gets 20% of its power from solar after a $2.8m project added 6,360 panels to its existing array, a boost of some 140%.
Until March 2020, the solar plant had 4,546 panels, with a peak production capacity of 1.5 MWp, representing 7.61% of the total energy demand at the airport.
Adding 6,364 more panels has brought peak capacity to 3.6 MWp, said Vinci Airports, whose company Aerodom operates Las Americas.
The move makes Aerodom the company with the largest solar energy production capacity in the country, with 6.8 MW installed in the six airports Vinci operates there.
The bigger array will save 10,500 tonnes of COâ‚‚ each year, the equivalent of approximately 875,000 gallons of fuel, Vinci said.
Vinci wants all its airports to achieve ISO 14001 certification or comply with the Airport International Council’s carbon accreditation program (ACA).
This year, Aerodom became the first operator in Latin America and the Caribbean to obtain ACA certification for the six airports it operates in the Dominican Republic.
Image: Las Americas international now gets 20% of its power from solar (Photograph courtesy of Vinci Airports)
