French Airport Becomes 1st In Country To Achieve Net Zero Emissions

• VINCI Concessions has commissioned a rooftop solar carport project at France's Toulon Hyères Airport 
• Executed by VINCI subsidiary SunMind, the project has panels covering 180 parking spaces 
• An additional solar carport, covering more than 700 parking spaces, is planned to be added in 2026 
• The airport is now the 1st airport in France to have achieved net zero emissions in its activity scope 

French mobility infrastructure company VINCI Concessions has inaugurated the maiden rooftop solar plant for France's Toulon Hyères Airport, enough to cover 180 parking spaces. It says the airport has now become the 1st in the country to achieve net zero emissions in its activity scope. 

The French airport is now also among the only 10 international airports to have obtained Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) level 5 of the Airports Council International (ACI), in recognition of its decarbonization efforts, according to VINCI. 

Installed on the roof of the car-rental car park, the solar power plant is designed to produce up to 690 MWh annually for the airport. Excess electricity produced will be fed into the grid. It was built by VINCI subsidiary SunMind. 

VINCI said plans are underway to add another solar carport in 2026, with capacity to cover more than 700 parking spaces. It is part of the company's plans to produce on-site renewable energy for all its airports. 

Managing the airport since 2015, VINCI says it has already helped reduce the airport's direct carbon emissions by 92.5% between 2018 and 2022 with a variety of initiatives including the introduction of an energy efficiency policy, replacement of heavy-fuel boiler by heat pumps, and a guaranteed renewable energy electricity contract. 

VINCI Concessions CEO and Chairman of VINCI Airports Nicolas Notebaert said, "Toulon Hyères airport is a perfect illustration of the decarbonisation policy rolled out by VINCI Concessions since 2016 in all its airports worldwide. We are proud that it has reached net zero emissions for its direct activities. All VINCI Concession' teams are mobilised to achieve this goal in all the European Union airports and also at London Gatwick by 2030." 

In April 2023, VINCI announced a 20 MW solar power plant at Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport in France as one of the largest shaded power plants in the country. It is the winner of the French government tender, scheduled to come online by summer 2024. The project was won by a consortium comprising Neoen and SunMind.