Monday 17 January 2011

Turbines built at East Midlands Airport

Work has started on a £1m project to build wind turbines at East Midlands Airport.

Two 45m-high turbines would provide 5% of the electricity the airport uses a year until 2031.

Construction is due to be completed by the end of March.

The turbines are one of several sustainability measures being utilised at the airport, which is used by around five million passengers a year.

It has planted a willow farm to provide bio-fuel and launched a trial to run an airport passenger transfer bus powered by liquid biomethane, a carbon neutral fuel. Last year, 84% of all waste collected on site was recycled, the highest figure of any UK airport.

Last year, scientists at Cranfield University revealed that vast areas of algae grown close to airports could power air travel in the near future.

Now British Airways and Airbus are among aviation giants backing a project at the university which is looking at ways to cultivate algae for commercial purposes.

While airlines are improving their fuel efficiency by around 1.5% a year, the aviation industry as a whole is growing by up to 5% a year.