Bologna’s Guglielmo Marconi Airport is one of the largest airports in Italy in terms of the number of international destinations served, with a runway capable of accommodating flights with a radius of up to 5,000 nautical miles and with state-of-the-art technology for safety and environmental protection. It serves a population of 10 million people with a clear mission: “To foster the international connectivity of people and businesses through the development and management of a structure that strives for excellence in quality and safety”.
In 2014, Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi di Bologna S.p.A. completed an upgrade of the interior lighting of the Pax Terminal, replacing the old lighting fixtures, mainly fluorescent and metal halide, with LED lamps equipped with electronic power supplies that allow dimming. This solution is particularly effective and has an impact in terms of energy savings since the airport is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, and interior lighting must be guaranteed at all times.
The Airport’s need was to partner with an Energy Service Company (ESCo) – certified UNI CEI 11352:2014 and enabled to access the “Energy Efficiency” IT application – to submit a formal request to a third party that could certify and quantify their efforts to increase savings.
As a certified ESCo and having certified EGEs, CPL CONCORDIA therefore carried out all the activities of submitting and certifying the primary energy savings (TOE) achieved with the upgrading of the terminal’s lighting fixtures.
The company has enjoyed energy, environmental and financial benefits with annual energy savings of about 1,500,000 kWhe/year, 450 tonnes of equivalent oil and the elimination of 490 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. The certification of the savings allows the airport to access the White Certificate scheme and to receive financial benefits for its efforts to reduce its energy impact. The airport is therefore able to certify its energy savings, as required by its Energy Management System and its Energy Policy.