ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF AIRPORTS: A CASE STUDY OF AIRPORTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Energy efficiency is vital as the first step in reducing carbon emissions and, in many cases, it is more cost effective to eliminate energy wastage prior to changing energy generation sources to less carbon intensive energy sources such as renewable energy t o mitigate climate change. To achieve energy efficiency for a site, it is key to understand the energy consumption of the site. This study investigates the site energy consumption of nine airports in South Africa. The paper presents the typical facilities in stalled at the airports, seeks to establish the drivers of the energy consumption, quantifies the base load energy consumption and significant energy users constituting more than 70 % of the site's total energy consumption. From these parameters the technology focus of all energy efficiency initiatives can be identified.