This Romanian airport has the ambition to be energy-independent via solar

Iași Airport is the third busiest in the country

Iași Airport in Romania aims to become completely energy-independent thanks to a planned extension of its on-ground photovoltaic park. Located in the northeast of the country, it is the third busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers.

The news was announced by the facility’s director, Romeo Vatră, who wrote during this past weekend that the airport has managed to submit all necessary documents just in time before the application deadline expires at the end of August. The application in question concerns the financing request to the Modernization Fund, which will disburse a 1-million-euro grant for the project.

The total cost of the solar park expansion comes to 3 million euros, so Iași Airport’s own funds will cover the rest of the money.

“The two parks will help the airport to become energy independent, using green energy", said Romeo Vatră, quoted by Bursa.ro.

Five-fold increase in self-generating capacity

Iași Airport already has a solar park on its grounds. Counting with 1 MWh in capacity, it has been operational since the autumn of 2023. The planned expansion, however, is more ambitious in scope.

The new photovoltaic park will have 5 MWh, with solar panels taking up five hectares of land. What’s more, there will be 2 MWh in battery storage units.

It’s on this combined power-generating capacity of the two parks that the airport’s management hopes to build true and sustainable energy independence.

The first completely energy-independent airport in the world is Pittsburgh International Airport (USA), which gained that status in the summer of 2021. However, that facility relies both on solar power and on natural gas wells that are drilled on its grounds. The latter means that its energy independence is not “green”.

Iași International Airport is the gateway to the eastern region of Moldavia. It was founded in 1926 and is connected to a number of destinations - mainly in Europe.