Cork Airport awards contract for solar carport which will provide 20% of electricity needs

Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director, Cork Airport, signs an agreement for a solar carport at the airport with John Carty, Greenvolt Ireland chief commercial officer. They were joined by Minister of State at Department of Transport, Jerry Buttimer, Brian Warren, construction director, Greenvolt Next; Transpirt Minister Darragh O'Brien; and Seamus McGrath TD. Picture: Darragh Kane

Cork Airport has awarded the contract for Ireland’s largest solar-powered carport to Waterford-based company Greenvolt Next, a project that will generate 20% of the airport's electricity needs. 

The new solar carport, which is being constructed over the existing Holiday Blue car park, will see an overhead roof/canopy structure fitted with 3,956 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. The structure will provide shelter for parked vehicles while generating electricity. The carport will generate over 1.5 GWh of renewable energy annually, meeting 20% of Cork Airport’s electricity needs, and reduce CO₂ emissions by 355,056kg each year.

“We understand the need for more sustainable operations at airports, which is why Cork Airport is investing in Ireland’s largest solar carport today. We acknowledge the support of DAA Group, the Dept of Transport, and the Dept of Climate, Environment and Energy for making this exciting project happen. We will meet our 2030 energy reduction targets, and we are proud to confirm that," said airport managing director Niall MacCarthy.

The project is set to go live in August 2027. It forms part of daa Group’s overall €200m investment in various capital projects at Cork Airport. Transport minister Darragh O’Brien attended the contract signing and said the project is supported with over €2m in Exchequer funding under the Regional State Airports Sustainability Programme. "This new solar carport will strengthen Cork Airport’s sustainability credentials and forms a key part of the airport’s overall sustainability strategy," said Mr O'Brien.

Work on extending the Holiday Blue car park by a further 669 spaces will commence shortly. 

 “Our aim is to make renewable energy easy, and this solar carport does exactly that by enabling Cork Airport to be more resourceful, have more control, and use more reliable infrastructure," said Greenvolt Next Ireland CEO Owen Power.

In 2025, Cork Airport experienced its busiest year ever for passenger traffic, with a total of 3.46m passengers and was named as Europe’s Best Regional Airport by Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.