Belfast 'taking steps towards carbon neutrality'

The managers of Belfast Int. Airport have claimed that 'major steps' have been taken towards neutralising the hub's carbon footprint.

By cutting down the amount of power used by its air conditioning units the airport has reportedly moved closer to negating its carbon dioxide emissions.

Some £91,500 has been invested in an energy efficiency scheme that is already reducing electricity bills by £130,000 per year.

Colin Sloan, technical supervisor at the airport, said: "We have reduced our electricity consumption enormously through the installation of variable speed drives [VSDs] on our air handling units.

"This is a major cost saving and we are now investigating other possibilities among the airport's many systems."

VSDs are designed to reduce energy consumption by fans, pumps and compressors and have led to savings totalling more than £530,000 for companies across Northern Ireland.