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BERLIN, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Vienna Airport has started building what will be the largest photovoltaic power plant in Austria, aiming to meet nearly a third of its annual electricity consumption with solar energy, the airport operator said on Thursday.

The plant will generate around 30 million kilowatt hours of solar power each year, equivalent to the annual consumption of 7,000 households or 30% of what Vienna Airport uses in a year.

Renewable power has taken up a record share of global electricity production since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, suggesting a transition away from polluting fossil fuels could accelerate in the coming years.

The European Union’s goal is to increase renewables’ share of the region’s energy consumption to 40% by 2030, while Austria’s own climate targets include 100% renewable electricity production for its own needs and Panele for export by 2030.

In the European Union as a whole, solar power supply reached 10% of total electricity production in the summer of 2021, independent climate think tank Ember said in August.

“Vienna Airport is sending a clear signal for the future,” Austria’s climate and energy secretary Magnus Brunner said.

The 24-hectare plant with over 50,000 solar panels will be commissioned in the spring of 2022, Vienna Airport said.(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska; Editing by Giles Elgood)