Research from RMIT University in Victoria has found that Australia’s government-owned airports cold produce enough electricity to power 136,000 homes if they had large-scale rooftop solar systems installed.

The study compares electricity generated by residential solar panels in a regional city compared to the potential production of 21 leased federal airports. It finds that large-scale solar panels would generate ten-times more electricity than 17,000 residential panels while offsetting 151.6 kilotons of greenhouse gases annually.

RMIT researcher Dr Chayn Sun says the analysis showed the value of focusing on large centralised rooftop solar systems: “We can’t rely on small residential solar panels to get us to a zero-emission economy but installing large panels at locations like airports would get us a lot closer.

“We hope our results will help guide energy policy, while informing future research in solar deployment for large buildings.

“There’s so much potential to facilitate national economic development while contributing towards greenhouse gas emission reduction targets,” she says.

Comparison of the annual estimated greenhouse gas offset, estimated electricity production and solar PV array areas.

Chayn adds that airports are ideal for solar panels but were not currently being used to their full potential.

“Airports get good sun exposure because they’re not shaded by tall buildings or trees, making them a perfect spot to harness the sun’s energy,” she explains.

“Australia is facing an energy crisis, yet our solar energy resources – such as airport rooftops – are being wasted. Harnessing this power source would avoid 63 kilotons of coal being burned in Australia each year, an important step towards a zero-carbon future.”

The study, published in The Journal of Building Engineering, geospatial researchers estimated the solar electricity generated from 17,000 residential solar panels in Bendigo, Victoria, over one year

Researchers determined the optimum tilt angle for the solar arrays for each airport, to maximise efficiency.

Perth Airport had most energy-generating potential; placing solar panels there could produce almost twice the solar output of Bendigo, equal to the combined production from Adelaide, Sydney, Moorabbin and Townsville airports.

Even Melbourne Airport alone would outperform Bendigo’s annual solar electricity production by almost 12GW hours a year.

Airport buildings less suited to solar panels, like those at Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, could still be useful for ground-mounted solar systems, the study found.