Printable Version New hub in Germany will produce 30% of its electricity needs from solar power generation system

FedEx Express has achieved tremendous growth in Germany and Eastern Europe and has reached such a level that we now require additional hub capacity to meet the demand for our services in the region. That’s why we have decided to start the construction of a new hub at the Cologne/Bonn airport.

The new gateway, strategically located at Cologne/Bonn airport, will provide a seamless service throughout Germany, Central and Eastern Europe, and will nearly double the amount of electricity we currently generate from solar power. It will also become our largest solar-powered operational centre anywhere in the world.

The state-of-the-art complex, planned to open in 2010, will provide us with approximately 50,000 square metres of floor space incorporating new ramp facilities and integrated fully automated freight sort systems and equipment. In addition, the facility will be equipped with a 1.4-megawatt solar power system, which can generate approximately 1.3 gigawatt hours of electricity per year – equivalent to the annual consumption of 370 households.  Solar panels, fitted to the roof of the new ramp and sort facilities, will cover a total surface area of 16,000 square meters.

More importantly, the new technology will provide us with no less than thirty percent of the new facility’s annual energy needs, and by doing so will nearly double the amount of electricity we currently generate from solar power. 

Our new gateway hub will also feature a Great Place to Work environment, including a high proportion of daylight work places and recreation areas, and we will also plant grass, flowers and other vegetation on those parts of the roof not required for solar panels.

We consistently seek ways in which to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment by using sustainable, renewable power sources and reducing overall energy consumption whenever we can.  Our new Cologne solar installation will therefore join a growing list of on-site renewable energy investments, including the sophisticated system we use in our Geneva station which uses latent heating technology to provide a warm working environment in winter and cool conditions in summer.