Proposals have been submitted for a 62-acre solar farm at Blackpool Airport, which would generate power for council buildings, the airport itself and a planned high-performance data centre campus.
Although the airport is owned by Blackpool Council, it falls within the boundaries of Fylde Council for planning purposes, meaning plans must be approved by the latter.
The initial assessment application describes a 20.1 MW solar farm located south of the airport’s main runway that could generate 18.7 million kWh of renewable electricity each year.
Expected to be operational by the end of the decade, it would consist of 36,500 photovoltaic panels and could reduce net electricity consumption by up to 75%.
The plans would involve the closure of the airport's smaller second runway. However, Blackpool Council said it was used by just 4% of flights last year. It currently costs more to maintain than it generates in aviation and commercial revenue, and its future was already in doubt.
“This is an opportunity for the airport to make the best use of the land by repurposing it in a way that generates a revenue stream for the airport, while reducing our energy bills and supporting our ten-year plan to become more financially sustainable,” said airport managing director Steve Peters.
“The 1,800-metre-long runway 28/10 provides good capacity for a busy airport, handling around 40,000 flight movements per year, and this move would support our wider plans to further improve the airport in the coming years.”
In addition to the council buildings, the new solar farm would also support Silicon Sands, a high-performance data centre campus planned for a site north of the current airfield.
Silicon Sands aims to create a series of renewable energy-powered data centres to create quality jobs on the Fylde coast. The project also aims to be environmentally friendly, by using liquid immersion cooling and reusing waste energy in a district heating network.
Meanwhile, Blackpool Council confirmed that the energy generated by the solar farm would also help equip Blackpool Airport to support the next generation of sustainable hybrid or battery-powered electric aircraft.
“Tackling the climate emergency is a major priority for Blackpool. The council and its businesses own a significant number of buildings and homes, as well as an airport, all of which are large energy consumers,” said Jane Hugo, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for climate change.
“These solar farm proposals would allow us to generate our own green energy, significantly reducing our carbon emissions and energy bills. They would also help support our plans to grow the local economy by providing green energy to Silicon Sands data centres and businesses, as well as helping the airport explore the next generation of sustainable aviation.”