Renewable energy to power the newest airport in Beijing.
The terminal building alone covers 700,000 sq km. It’s expected to become one of the busiest airports of the world, initially handling up to 45 million passengers per year and 100 million after further expansion. This is intended to relieve congestion at the capital’s one existing airport. The terminal was built with renewable energy in mind. Solar panels are installed throughout the airport to provide a minimum capacity of at least 10MW. Heating is provided by both a ground-source heat pump and waste heat recovery. The architects explain the airport also collects rainwater and its water management system “employs the natural storage, natural permeation and natural purification of up to 2.8 million cubic meters of water in new wetlands, lakes and streams to prevent flooding and counter the summer ‘heat island’ effect on the local microclimate.”
