Belfast International Airport is flying high as it has saved more than £100,000 on energy.

The savings were made after 10 months of operation of a solar power plant at Crookedstone Road.

It is buying clean electricity from the 4.83MW plant through a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Lightsource Renewable Energy.

The project is also expected to save around 2,100 tonnes of carbon emissions every year – equivalent to taking 469 cars off the road.

Alan Whiteside, Belfast International Airport Operations Director said: “The solar farm project has exceeded all expectations. From switch-on in March to the end of the year, the ‘ballpark’ savings were over £100,000.

“The project is consistently delivering a reliable green and cost-saving energy supply for the airport. No other airport in either the rest of the UK or Ireland has a similar energy source and we’re delighted with its operation.”

Last year, Lightsource installed Europe’s largest floating solar farm in Greater London and recently switched on the largest solar farm in Northern Ireland.