Frankfurt Airport to build 13-MWp solar system along runway

Airport operator Fraport AG (ETR:FRA) will install a 13-MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) system along a runway at the Frankfurt Airport as Germany's busiest airport is seeking to raise its share of green energy.

A demonstration triple-array system of 20 PV panels with an output of 8.4 kW has been already set up at the southwestern end of Runway 18 West and will be extended along the runway to reach a length of 2,600 m (2,843 yd), Fraport said in a press statement.

In order to leverage the vacant spaces within the runway system, the panels are positioned vertically to pick up sunlight from both easterly and westerly directions and take up minimal space.

Frankfurt Airport already has a 1.5-MW solar park in operation at CargoCity South. The photovoltaic system is installed on the roof of a cargo warehouse in the cargo hub.

In the future, Fraport plans to continue its switch to solar energy and put panels on new buildings such as the parking building for the airport's new Terminal 3.

Apart from solar energy, Fraport relies also on wind power to drive its green transition. From the winter of 2025/26, the airport operator will offtake 85 MW of green electricity from the 900-MW He Dreiht wind project in the North Sea under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with German electric utility EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (ETR:EBK).

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