Six Out of Six: Sino-German Expert Group Conducts Energy Diagnosis in World’s No. 2 Airport

Beijing Capital International Airport ©Shutterstock
Beijing Capital International Airport ©Shutterstock

Berlin, Manila, New York or Chengdu: Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) serves as North China’s gateway to the world. Over 100 million passengers in 2018 and hundreds of connections per day make Beijing’s airport (IATA airport code “PEK”) the world’s second largest transport hub in terms of passengers after Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson. Within the Sino-German demonstration project on energy efficiency in the heavy industry, the energy diagnosis in BCIA’s terminal 3 marks the last of six audits in different Chinese industry sectors.

On March 28, a group of Chinese and German experts conducted a thorough energy diagnosis in one of the world’s largest buildings – terminal 3 (T3) of Beijing’s airport with an area of one million square meters. The diagnosis is part of a demonstration project jointly implemented by China’s National Energy Conservation Center (NECC), Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

After an intensive preparation and numerous telephone conferences in the run-up to the energy diagnosis, the project team finally gets the chance to examine T3’s lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems hands-on. BCIA, an airport of superlatives, takes ambitious actions to “go green”. Already today, the airport features large solar PV installations generating sustainable power and its efficiency measures in the past helped to save ten thousands of tons of coal. The airport management plans to switch all lighting systems to LED; in the future, only new energy vehicles (NEVs) will be allowed to operate on the airport’s grounds. To find and implement even more energy saving measures, BCIA applied to become one of the six Sino-German demonstration companies at the end of 2017.

The next morning, March 29, the expert group sums up their findings and ideas for improvement and discusses the last questions with BCIA’s building management. For the experts the work has just begun. During the next weeks, they will draft an audit report before suggesting the implementation of the most promising measures in terms of economic and environmental benefits.

Being the last of six energy audits, the BCIA audit marks a milestone for the two-year demonstration project. Other demonstration branches included cement, coal power, glass fiber, ceramics and paper. The project’s aim is to conduct state-of-the-art German energy diagnoses in China’s heavy industry, introduce and spread life-cycle cost analysis in China’s industry and implement identified measures in a close partnership between German and Chinese companies. The demonstration project is part of the Sino-German Energy Partnership between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the National Development and Reform Commission of the PR. China (NDRC).

Discussion during the energy diagnosis, © GIZ

Discussion during the energy diagnosis, © GIZ

Discussion during the energy diagnosis, © GIZ

Energy Diagnosis at Beijing Capital International Airport, © GIZ

Energy Diagnosis at Beijing Capital International Airport, © GIZ

Energy Diagnosis at Beijing Capital International Airport, © GIZ

Energy Diagnosis at Beijing Capital International Airport, © GIZ

Energy Diagnosis at Beijing Capital International Airport, © GIZ

Energy Diagnosis at Beijing Capital International Airport, © GIZ