Newcastle Airport continues journey towards 100% renewables

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Under the agreement Melbourne-based Flow Power will prepare an energy plan that will see the Newcastle Airport hit its 100% renewable energy target seven years ahead of schedule, significantly reducing its carbon footprint.

Newcastle Airport Chief Executive Officer Dr Peter Cock said the agreement, which took effect last month and will support the airport’s operations for the next eight years, is a major step forward in the facility’s sustainability journey.

“Sustainability is key to everything we do,” he said. “We’re delighted to partner with Flow Power. By offsetting grid consumption with green generation certificates, they’ll help us significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and help us achieve our 100% renewable energy strategy well ahead of our 2030 target.”

Newcastle Airport Executive General Manager of Aviation Shane de Wit said the airport has committed to achieving net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions by no later than 2030 and the partnership with Flow Power will support it in achieving those goals.

“The new agreement provides us with the ability to develop local renewable energy and offset any remaining demand with green generation certificates from off-site renewable energy sources,” he said.

The agreement is the latest of several renewable energy initiatives rolled out by the airport.

In 2021, 99 kWh of solar was installed which provided 3.9% of the airport’s energy demands and reduced its carbon footprint by more than 75 tonnes. A new covered carpark being developed at the airport will feature 1,212 solar panels which will generate enough clean energy to meet about 30% of the airport’s energy needs.

“We’re committed to continuous improvement and will continue to explore opportunities to reduce our environmental impact and support the transition to a low-carbon future,” de Wit said.

Newcastle Airport’s Georgina Chalker, Shane De Witt and Peter Cock announce the new power purchase agreement.

Image: Flow POwer

Flow Power General Manager of Energy Solutions, Jacob Mahoney, said he is excited to be partnering with Newcastle Airport and assisting them in their transition to renewable energy.

“Our mission is to create a clean energy future with our customers, and we are thrilled to be working with Newcastle Airport and supporting them to reach their sustainability goals,” he said.

The agreement is the latest for Flow Power which has established a renewable energy portfolio of more than 440 MW across the national electricity market (NEM).

Flow Power, which first introduced corporate renewable PPAs in 2017, said it provided 632 GWh of renewable energy to Australia’s grid in 2022. This included output from three owned and operated solar farms in Shoalhaven in NSW, and Streaky Bay and Coonalpyn in South Australia totalling 13.3 MW of generation capacity. The retailer also has 11 agreements for contracted energy generation from wind and solar farms totalling 410 MW of renewable generation capacity and has four renewable energy projects currently in construction across three states with the anticipated generation capacity of 17.4 MW.

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