The island of Palau, one of the smallest nations in the world, has had its airport upgraded with solar power in mind.

The island of Palau, one of the smallest nations in the world, has had its airport upgraded with solar power in mind.

The Republic of Palau international airport now features a 226.8kW solar installation, which is the largest on the island and also the first solar project to be connected to the grid. It consists of 1,080 Kyocera 210W solar modules located on canopies in the airport's parking lot. The canopies themselves have been reinforced with extra support bars to help protect the installation during typhoons.

The project was a joint collaboration between Kyocera and Wakachiku Construction, and was funded in part by the government of Japan. According to Kyocera, the project is expected to offset 80 tons of CO2 annually.

The airport traditionally is home to around 100 aircraft operations each month, with flights going to and from cities like Tokyo, Taipai, and Manila.

Via Treehugger