‘Unrealised potential’ for solar deployment at Australian airports

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Brisbane is home to Australia’s largest airport solar installation. Image: Epho Energy .

Australia’s airports have untapped potential to aid the country’s transition to renewable energy, according to a report from researchers at Melbourne’s RMIT University.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Building Engineering, claims that installing solar PV systems on the roofs of 21 Leased Federal Airports (LFAs) in Australia could provide enough clean energy to supply 136,000 households and “significantly” mitigate the country’s energy crisis.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

It said that, while the residential solar market is growing, “large-scale” installations, or those with a capacity greater than 100kW, may be more crucial to the country’s energy transition, adding that airports have “been studied to have the most potential for these technologies”.

The researchers used geospatial technology to compare the potential efficiency of solar installations at 21 LFAs run by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, with 17,000 rooftop installations in the city of Bendigo, Victoria.

They noted that the LFAs’ distribution across Australia, their heightened security and the fact that they are not obscured by neighbouring buildings or forestry create an optimal location for solar PV systems, while also reducing the operating costs of the airports themselves.

Brisbane is currently home to Australia’s largest airport PV installation, standing at 5.725MW in capacity. However, the researchers found 2.61km sq of LFA rooftop space that could generate 467GWh of solar electricity annually, “nearly 10 times greater than the annual electricity generated with nearly 17,000 installed residential solar rooftop PV panels in the local government area”.

The report, they said, sheds light on “the unrealized potential” for advancing solar deployment in Australia through existing infrastructure, and the results provide “support to decision-makers and airport authorities in implementing rooftop solar PV systems within 21 LFAs in Australia”.

Read Next

Premium
October 8, 2025
PV Talk: Smart Energy Council's Nigel Morris reflects on how Australia has become a global testbed for distributed solar and storage innovation.
October 8, 2025
University of Sydney scientists have created the largest and most efficient triple-junction perovskite-perovskite-silicon solar cell on record.
October 8, 2025
Australia's NEM achieved a new minimum operational demand record of 9,666MW, marking a 4% decrease from the previous record.
October 8, 2025
Frontier Energy plans to expand its Waroona Renewable Energy Project into a renewable energy precinct by 2031, targeting up to 1GW solar.
October 7, 2025
Rystad Energy has said that Queensland’s utility-solar assets were the best-performing solar PV power plants in September 2025.
October 7, 2025
The government of Victoria, Australia, has launched the an incentive scheme to encourage businesses to install rooftop solar installations.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK