Solar energy at airports: navigating the glare challenge and Malaga’s pioneering project

No space is off-limits for electrification

When we talk about the energy transition and solar panels, we usually picture residential rooftops, offices, or rural solar farms. We rarely think of an airport.

Airports operate 24/7, 365 days a year. Terminals require constant air conditioning; runways need precision lighting; and there are air traffic control systems, cargo areas, hotels, and cold storage facilities to power.

A medium-sized airport consumes as much energy as a small town. This presents a striking geographical paradox: airports are typically located in wide-open, unobstructed areas with vast horizontal surfaces exposed to the sun. Car parks, rooftops, maintenance hangars, and other non-operational areas have historically been completely underutilised from an energy perspective.

The Malaga project is actively bucking this trend. Electrifying complex infrastructure isn't a pipe dream; it’s a matter of smart engineering and design. And if it works at an airport – arguably the most demanding operational environment there is – where else could it work?

The invisible hurdle: why glare grounded airport solar projects

Glare is the temporary loss of vision caused by an intense light source or a direct reflection into the eyes. In everyday life, we just blink and move on. In aviation, that fraction of a second can be critical.

A pilot on approach operates with razor-thin margins of error. An air traffic controller needs an uninterrupted, precise view of the runway. An unexpected flash of light, even for a split second, can have serious consequences.

Depending on their installation angle and surface coating, solar panels can act like mirrors, bouncing sunlight directly into the cockpit of a manoeuvring aircraft or straight at the control tower.

So, how do we fix it? Predictive engineering and the end of the solar taboo

The solution wasn't to eliminate reflections, but to anticipate and redirect them.

Before installing a single panel in Malaga, engineers ran advanced computational simulations – known as glare analysis – to model exactly how light would reflect based on the sun's position, the orientation of the modules, and sightlines from the control tower. This allowed them to predict exactly where reflections might hit the airspace.

The result was a 3D risk map pinpointing suitable areas, safe orientations, and the required anti-glare treatments for the solar cells.

In Malaga, the arrays were installed over the car hire parking areas, where the structures provided ample space without crossing critical flight paths. Technical validation from Aena gave the project the green light, making it a pioneering example of private solar self-consumption at a Spanish airport – without compromising an ounce of operational safety.

It’s not about ignoring the risks; it’s about understanding them so thoroughly that they can be precision-managed.

A global trend: airports embracing solar energy

Malaga isn't an isolated case. Around the world, airports have been exploring solar integration for years.

• Cochin Airport (India) has led the charge since 2015, boasting one of the aviation sector's largest solar installations.

• Rome Fiumicino hosts the largest self-consumption solar farm within a European airport perimeter: a 22 MWp site developed by Aeroporti di Roma and built by Enel in partnership with Circet, cutting CO₂ emissions by over 11,000 tonnes a year.

• Denver International (USA) holds one of the highest solar capacities of any US airport.

• Carrasco (Uruguay) and Galapagos (Ecuador) airports are also making strides in integrating renewable energy in Latin America.

What links these projects isn't a single piece of technology, but a shared logic: these are facilities with massive energy demands, plenty of unused non-operational space, and growing pressure to cut both emissions and grid dependency.

More than sustainability: self-consumption, resilience, and real savings

The conversation around renewables in infrastructure often leans heavily on environmental benefits. But the practical advantages go much further.

• Self-consumption: generating electricity where it is needed reduces transmission losses and lowers energy bills. In Malaga, the installation reduces reliance on the national grid and minimises electricity transport losses.

• Resilience: infrastructure that generates its own power is less vulnerable to external supply shocks. At an airport, where uptime is critical, solar energy – especially when combined with battery storage or smart grid management – significantly enhances energy security.

• Emissions reduction: the Malaga project avoids more than 50 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, a key step for an aviation sector under growing pressure to decarbonise.

Electrifying the impossible

The energy transition isn't just about swapping out old technologies for new ones; it’s about intelligent adaptation.

For decades, high-security environments such as airports, hospitals, and heavy industrial facilities were largely left out of the renewables boom. Today, photovoltaic systems are designed for these challenging spaces: glare is no longer an obstacle, but a design parameter.

Any infrastructure that currently seems incompatible with renewables can be electrified if approached with the right analysis, simulation, and design.

Solar energy in airports is a viable solution when designed with safety, operational, and efficiency criteria in mind. The challenge is no longer finding space, but knowing how to integrate it properly.