European Airports are going to get greener. Greener in terms of lesser carbon emission and lesser energy costs. Researchers in Europe have used the funding from European Commission to develop a new software and sensor system that will monitor carbon emission and reduce energy costs by 20%.
The pilot testing of the system is currently taking place at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, and Milan’s Malpensa Airport in Italy. The new system, called Cascade, is said, will save these Italian airports at least 6000 megawatts per hour, which equates to 42,000 tonnes of CO2 and €840,000 a year. Partners in Germany, Italy, Ireland and Serbia are jointly working on the new system, supported by €2.6 million of EU funding.
ACI Europe, which represents more than 450 airports in Europe, has committed its support to the project, and it is expected the system will see wider use in European gateways from 2015. It is believed that 100% European airports need to become “smarter and greener”, The Cascade system shows that being sustainable doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and that actually it can save energy and money.
