Advancing Green Airports
A case study of onsite low-level wind energy generation at Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport aims to meet 55% of its annual electricity demand through on-site green technologies by 2028. To explore additional carbon-neutral energy solutions, Edinburgh Airport has partnered with Katrick Technologies to assess the feasibility of harnessing ground-level wind energy. Over the past year, Katrick Technologies, in collaboration with Dr Früh from Heriot-Watt University, have conducted extensive wind studies at Edinburgh Airport. These studies focus on ground-level wind, a resource not captured by traditional MET data, but one that shows untapped resources for energy generation. The energy analysis in Dr Früh’s report highlights the limitations of solar energy to fulfil the target alone and the ability for the Katrick solution to supplement the required energy demands of Edinburgh Airport going forward. To address the challenges, the report recommends the installation of a 10 MW Katrick Wind Panel system in Phase 1 to meet the projected 2026 energy requirements. Additionally, it advises an expansion of another 10 MW of Katrick Wind Panels to satisfy the anticipated demand by 2028.
A pioneer in airport sustainability:
As part of its commitment to sustainability, Edinburgh Airport became the first airport in Scotland to install on its site an airside 10 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar farm. The solar farm features 14,896 solar panels spread across 46,272 m², each with an average nominal power output of 655 W. The installation also includes a 1.5 MW battery pack to store excess energy and deliver when supply falls short of demand.
In 2023, prior to installing the solar farm, Edinburgh Airport conducted an analysis of its energy demand, which showed an average daily consumption of 68.49 MWh. The analysis projected that the solar farm could provide up to 26% of the airport's annual energy needs, marking a significant milestone in its pursuit of carbon neutrality.
A growing demand
A mid-2024 analysis conducted by Edinburgh Airport revealed a significant rise in its average daily energy demand, increasing from 68.49 MWh to 83.70 MWh, largely driven by the growing use of electric vehicles and fixed electrical ground power for aircraft. While the existing solar farm is expected to contribute meaningfully to their energy needs, Edinburgh Airport recognizes additional sources will be required to help it meet its ambitious sustainability targets. Projections indicate that the airport's energy demand could surge to 137 MWh within the next 18 months as shown in Fig 1.
Figure 1. Mean Daily Energy Demand
The demand in 2028 is mainly as a result of an ambitious plan to install a district heating network on-site to satisfy the airport’s heating and hot water requirements, and benefit the local community, which is expected to consume an average of 10 MWh daily. With the grid unable to meet these increasing demands, the airport is exploring alternative on-site green energy solutions. To address this, Edinburgh Airport has partnered with Katrick Technologies to investigate ground-level wind energy as a potential option to support its growing energy requirements over the next 3 years.
Objectives of the case study
This case study seeks to evaluate the potential of ground-level wind energy as a complementary source of renewable energy at Edinburgh Airport.
The key objectives include:
(1) Assessing the energy generation potential of Katrick Technologies' Wind Panels,
(2) Comparing this potential with the existing solar PV setup, and
(3) Determining how effectively Katrick Wind Panels could help Edinburgh Airport achieve its carbon-neutral energy targets.
Scope and limitations
The study compares the expected performance of Katrick Wind Panels against solar PV cells, using data provided by Edinburgh Airport and analysed through "Solar Atlas." The case study focuses on the wind studies conducted by Katrick Technologies and Heriot-Watt University over the past year. Revealing that ground-level winds at Edinburgh Airport are extremely turbulent, providing a unique energy resource. Given that Katrick’s Wind Panels are still in development, certain efficiency factors and potential energy losses due to weather conditions are not fully known, which could affect the comparison. To ensure a fair comparison, the study did not account for shading, transmission, or similar losses for the solar PV cells, though supplied in the data sheet provided by the Edinburgh Airport. Additionally, Edinburgh Airport currently are not able to export excess energy to the grid due to network limitations and have a limited 1.5 MW battery capacity to store excess energy and release it back to the site when the solar array is not outputting, both are also not considered in the analysis.
Initial findings on ground-level wind
The wind studies focused on ground-level winds below 10m above the ground, which are not captured by traditional MET data, providing Katrick Technologies and Edinburgh Airport with a deeper understanding of the full potential for wind power generation. Katrick Technologies, in collaboration with Dr Früh, discovered that ground-level winds are highly turbulent. By using Katrick’s field placement methodologies, they were able to identify the locations where there is high potential of wind energy at ground levels. From the studies, they identified the key technical criteria necessary for ground-level wind energy devices to function effectively with potential to match solar energy in terms of generation capacity.
Katrick’s wind mapping revealed that the energy potential of ground-level winds at Edinburgh Airport can be up to four times greater than what MET data suggests as shown in Fig. 2 below. The difference in data collection is that MET data is heavily averaged and fails to capture the rapid, second-by-second fluctuations of ground-level wind. It is therefore crucial to deploy wind energy conversion devices which capture these fluctuations effectively.
Figure 2. Katrick vs MET data
Results from the initial study
The following section showcases wind versus solar comparisons onsite at Edinburgh Airport and their actual 2023 energy usage. The data also highlights the onsite renewable generation requirement for their targets.
In Figure 3, the Estimated Solar Power data (yellow bars) was calculated using Edinburgh Airport’s product specifications provided for its’ PV solar cells. Utilising the "Solar Atlas" Katrick’s team calculated the mean hourly energy generation of these PV cells over a period of one year. The Wind data (green bars) consists of actual measured data for the period February to June and interpolated the remaining months, using local MET for the weather trends.
Figure 3. Solar vs Wind generation capacity
In figure 4 below, using the data from Figure 3 the initial assessments show that for a 10 kW installation solar PV could generate 8.4 MWh per year, while the same capacity of Wind Panels could generate about 18.8 MWh per year.
Figure 4. Solar vs Wind Annual Generation
Wind energy performance analysis:
An analysis was conducted to evaluate the energy generation performance of Katrick Wind Panels based on ground-level wind conditions at Edinburgh Airport. The study focused on a single unit with a rated capacity of 1 kW. Using wind mapping data, the results showed that the average daily wind energy generation was consistently steady throughout the day as shown in Fig 5. This indicates that wind blows more reliably and at higher speeds, particularly during the winter months when energy demand is greater. These findings suggest that wind energy will generate more energy throughout the year compared to solar, which is limited to generating power during daylight hours and produces less during the darker days of winter.
Figure 5. Wind Mean Average - daily generation
Wind direction analysis
The study further reveals that the wind flow pattern around Edinburgh Airport predominantly occurs from the southwest. However, for a brief period each year, the wind direction shifts by 180 degrees as shown in Figure 6. This airflow pattern is highly advantageous for the installation of Katrick Wind Panels, as they are designed to capture wind from both directions effectively.
Figure 6. Wind Rose for Edinburgh Airport
Top-level analysis on the potential Wind Panel installation:
Based on a top-level estimation, Edinburgh Airport spans 3.67 square kilometres or 3,670,000 square meters. The current solar panels are installed in the Southern perimeter fence on the airside as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Edinburgh Airport Solar Farm Installation Highlighted in Blue.
An analysis of the northeastern elevated sections on the airside suggests that approximately 5% of the total land area of Edinburgh Airport is suitable for Phase 1 Wind Panel installation. Considering the placement factor, this area under Phase 1, could support up to 10,000 Wind Panels, providing an installed capacity of around 10 MW.
An analysis of the proposed northeastern section of the runway, located 50m from the centreline, indicates that approximately 168,855 m² of land at Edinburgh Airport is suitable for Phase 1 Wind Panel installations. Based on the placement factor, this area could accommodate up to 10,000 Wind Panels, for an installed capacity of approximately 10 MW.
With passenger numbers expected to increase substantially by 2035 and the airport's plans to implement a district heating network, the demand for energy is projected to rise significantly. To address this growing demand, additional sites within the airport's perimeter were explored for future installations. Further discussions with Edinburgh Airport will be necessary to identify suitable locations for the next phase.
The site considered for Phase 1 is marked in green, and other potential areas of interest are marked in yellow and shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Edinburgh Airport Potential Site for Wind Installations
Additional potential exists in the built-up areas, which should also be considered for future development. Katrick is currently collaborating with Heriot-Watt University to study wind behaviour in and around the airport. This research will consider a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis using the topography, wind mapping data, and the influence of built-up areas to provide a more accurate assessment of the opportunities for Wind Panel installation.
Katrick Wind Panel potential for Edinburgh Airport
The study explored the potential benefits of adding Katrick Wind Panels to the existing solar farm at Edinburgh Airport. It assessed how the combined output of both technologies could meet the airport's growing energy demands. Given the high wind energy potential at Edinburgh Airport, the combined generation capacity demonstrated a promising upward trend, suggesting that it could easily support the airport's goal of achieving 55% net zero generation.
The analysis revealed that adding 10 MW of Katrick Wind Panels (matching the existing solar capacity) would increase the combined generation to cover up to 78% of the current demand. As demand rises to 137 MWh over the next 18 months, the combined contribution would decrease to 53%, still aligning closely with the airport's target. To accommodate a future demand, increase to 205.48 MWh, an additional 10 MW of Katrick Wind Panels would be required. With a total of 20 MW of Katrick Wind Panels alongside the existing 10 MW of solar capacity, the combined generation could meet up to 59% of the future demand, shown in Fig 9.
Figure 9. Share of Future Energy Demand Provided by Existing Solar and Wind Energy Generation.
*10MW wind & 10MW Solar till 2026, 20MW wind & 10 MW Solar for 2028.
These findings highlight the significant impact that Katrick Wind Panels could have on supporting Edinburgh Airport's energy needs and advancing its net zero goals.
Towards a Net Zero airport
The current 10 MW solar farm at Edinburgh Airport can meet up to 28% of the airport's daily energy requirements. By adding an additional 10 MW of Katrick Wind Panels on top of the existing solar farm, the energy coverage could increase to 78%. Even with an anticipated short-term demand increase to 137 MWh, the additional Wind Panels could still meet up to 53% of the energy needs, ensuring the airport remains on track with its energy targets.
To effectively manage the anticipated demand growth and achieve the 55% net-zero target, the study recommends an expansion to Phase 1, adding another 10 MW of Katrick Wind Panels. This additional capacity would substantially enhance the airport's ability to meet its ambitious net-zero goals, surpassing the limitations of relying solely on solar energy. Analysing the proposed land area adjacent to the runway indicates that there is sufficient space to accommodate 10 MW of wind panels for Phase 1.
The analysis emphasizes the significant potential of Katrick ground-level Wind Panels as a key technology for industries aiming to boost their green energy generation, particularly in areas with mean annual ground-level wind speeds of 4 m/s or higher.
The proposed energy mix, combining solar with ground-level wind, offers a more resilient solution by reducing reliance on a single source such as solar and minimizing the effects of weather variability, intermittency, and seasonality. This approach also decreases dependence on the grid to meet additional energy demand.