Brussels Airport will sell green electricity to 100 neighboring families

Brussels Airport is launching a pilot project to sell the power generated by its solar panels to 100 households in four neighboring municipalities.

The airport operator promises a discount of about 124 euros off an average household’s annual electric energy bill.

Collaboration with energy platform Bolt

The pilot project is being run in collaboration with the energy platform Bolt. As of February, the first 100 families from Kortenberg, Machelen, Steenokkerzeel, and Zaventem who sign up will receive power from the airport’s solar panels. After a year, they can switch to another Bolt generator or choose another energy supplier.

With the pilot project, Brussels Airport wants to test on a small scale the practical feasibility of such a participation project between an airport and its residents. It is part of the European project Stargate, in which Brussels Airport is working with a consortium of 21 partners to develop various initiatives for more sustainable airports and aviation.

24,000 megawatt hours by 2027

Brussels Airport’s solar panels currently generate some 9,200 megawatt hours of green electricity per year. The airport operator wants to nearly triple that to 24,000-megawatt hours by 2027. To be clear, the airport does not have a surplus of green power today; it is expected to have it in the future.

The solar panels are part of the airport operator’s ambition to have zero CO2 emissions for its own operations by 2030. This includes, for example, the buildings and infrastructure managed by the airport operator but not the C02 emitted by aircraft.

Last week, it became known that Brussels Airport will not be able to meet the agreed noise standards. The news was pointed to delays by Boeing and Airbus in delivering quieter aircraft. Neighbors and various action groups reacted angrily to the news and want the environmental permit granted to be withdrawn if the standards cannot be met.

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