Despite the carnage in Canada’s aviation sector since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, progress towards a greener aviation industry continues. A couple of recent announcements caught the attention of eFlight this week.

The first was an announcement by Edmonton International Airport (EIA) that a 254-hectare (627-acre) solar energy generating facility will be built on airport grounds. Dubbed the ‘Airport City Solar’, the airport authority is partnering with Germany-based Alpin Sun to construct a 120-megawatt solar farm on a section of the airport’s 28-km² (7,000-acre) plot of land located south of the Alberta capital. It is being billed as the world’s largest airport solar farm, with 340,000 solar panels to be installed, generating enough electricity to supply about 27,500 homes, although the intention is to remove parts of the airport’s operation from the commercial grid.

“One of our core principles is being dedicated to sustainability,” said EIA CEO Tom Ruth in a press release. “With Airport City Solar and Alpin Sun we’re creating something the whole world will notice. We’re Canada’s largest major airport by land size so we have the space to do something very special – the largest solar farm at an airport in the world. This will create jobs, provide sustainable solar power for our region and shows our dedication to sustainability.”

The second announcement of interest was the signing by Air Transat and the SAF+ Consortium for the supply of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to the airline, heralded as a first offtake agreement of its type in Canada. The SAF+ Consortium has contracted Ontario-based Zeton to produce ‘sustainable kerosene’, which is 80 percent composed of CO₂ emissions recovered from industrial sources.

“We are committed to offering our clients with a low carbon footprint travelling experience, while achieving our environmental obligations,” said Air Transat president Jean-François Lemay in a press release

SAF+ Consortium’s partners include CCG, Air Transat, Aéroports de Montréal, Parachem, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, CIRAIG and Valorisation Carbone Québec Project.

Photo credit: EIA