Cargo news
Solar park of Finnair’s COOL cargo terminal upgraded with new solar panels
January 15, 2024
As part of Finnair 100 sustainability initiatives, the solar park on the roof of Finnair Cargo's hub terminal has been upgraded. Throughout the past summer and autumn months, we have installed an additional 1790 solar panels to the roof of our COOL Nordic Cargo Hub at Helsinki Airport in Finland. These join 1200 panels installed when the terminal was originally constructed and provide enough energy on sunny days to sustain the cargo space in full and feed surplus energy to other Finnair facilities.
“With this addition, the solar power station with a total of 2990 panels on the roof of the COOL Nordic Cargo Hub can, at the maximum level, produce over 1,1 MW peaks*, more than tripling our previous production”, says Gabriela Hiitola, Senior Vice President Finnair Cargo.
After the COOL solar park upgrade, solar panels produce the equivalent of 37% of annual COOL electricity consumption. On a sunny day, the COOL terminal is completely self-sufficient in terms of electricity production and the excess production will be fed to other Finnair facilities.
The COOL cargo terminal, opened in 2018 was designed with sustainability principles in mind. In addition to the solar panels providing part of the energy needed for the terminal’s operations, also both operational efficiency and waste management have been carefully planned.
Additionally, Finnair is also installing 645 solar panels on the roof of a hangar building used for aircraft maintenance. The solar panel installations are part of Finnair’s sustainability program during its centenary year.
“It is clear that the aviation industry still needs major developments to reduce flight emissions. However, in the meantime we keep on working towards more sustainable operations in all areas”, says Gabriela Hiitola, SVP Finnair Cargo.
*kWp is the peak power of a PV system or panel. Solar panel systems are given a rating in kilowatts peak (kWp), which is the rate at which they generate energy at peak performance, such as on a sunny day in the afternoon.
When the solar PV panels are operating, they will convert the sun’s radiance into electrical energy, which is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). PV panels with a peak power of 270kWp which are working at maximum capacity for one hour will produce 270kWh.
To find out more about the upgrade project read our news story.
