Southampton Airport gets solar-powered lights

Southampton Airport has become the UK’s first to installed solar-powered lighting on its runway in a bit to reduce their carbon emissions and save energy. The flashing lights, nick-named “Wig Wags”, are being used a junctions between taxiways and the runway at the south England transport hub.

The lights are also used in Afghanistan by the US Air Force, but the move makes Southampton the first airport in the UK to take such measures. An airport spokesman said the lights have been installed to help minimise the facility’s environmental footprint and save on maintenance costs.

The five solar panel units, which are supplied by Systems Interface Ltd of Surrey, convert sunlight into enough energy to operate the lights 24 hours a day. Batteries can also store energy for 120 days without the need for additional solar charging.

A further cost of £170,000 of laying cables has also been saved by the airport as the lights have been installed in areas of the hub without access to power supplies. The lights were first trialled the past winter as replacements for the ordinary system.

In total, the new system is costing the airport just £25,000, which director of airside operations Mark Gibb has called “a drop in the ocean”. He added that the scheme is part of the airport’s overall commitment to reduce their carbon emissions.

Southampton Airport is aiming to cut its electricity use by 2.5 percent this year. Plans to replace actual runway lights with the solar powered models are also being considered.