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The Dutch aviation company, Royal Schiphol Group, says that its airports all across Holland will run on 100% wind energy, starting in 2018.

The New Source for Airports

The airports will run solely on wind energy. The majority of this energy will come from a renewable energy company called Eneco. By 2020, they will be providing 100% of the wind energy needed to run these airports. The company will need to build more wind farms in order to reach this demand. While they wait for the new wind farms to be completed, the airports will use other sustainable sources to fulfill the 100% renewable energy goal.

Dutch airports alone have over 70 million passengers passing through in just a year, and that number is continuously growing. The wind farms will fully support the energy needs of the 4 airports in Holland. The clean energy supply amounts to about 220 gWh annually for 15 years.

The Motivation for Clean Airports

The central government of Holland wants greenhouse gas emissions to be zero by 2050. They also hope that in 5 years, the entire country will be running on 26% renewable energy.

As Jeroen de Haas, the CEO of Eneco Group said, it is extremely important to start with the business sector when transitioning to renewable energy. Large corporate businesses are one of the largest sources of pollution across the world. By reduce the emissions of the largest polluters first, it will only help them reach their renewable goal faster.

The Impact of Aviation

The emissions of an airplane are over 10 times that of a small truck on the road. It accounts for up to 9% of the the total climate change impact from human activity. International aviation has also increased by 83% over the past 17 years. This means even more planes are flying through the air every day and making all of these numbers higher.

Even though aviation is a small industry, it is creating a large majority of the emissions responsible for climate change. Small steps to make this sector more efficient and environmentally friendly can only make big changes. The Dutch are taking aviation emissions into their own hands and are way ahead of the learning curve when it comes to renewable energy. If we cannot yet change the fuel necessary for the airplanes to take flight, then change the fuel used for the airports where they are docked. Small steps make big change, and big changes can change the world.

Sources: CNBC, Schiphol, Eneco, DutchNews.nl