The facility will be equipped with new ramp, freight and sort facilities with a fullyautomated sort system that will cover a floor space of approximately 50,000 square meters. FedEx opted to build its new hub in Cologne because of the region’s excellent freight transport infrastructure and the central location of the airport within Germany and Europe.
“Moving to Cologne enables FedEx to plan eff ectively for the future,” said Robert W. Elliott, president, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Indian subcontinent, FedEx Express. “With the availability of space to expand and more flexible night flight regulations, we have found innovative and practical solutions to meet the needs of our customers worldwide.”
In addition, the Cologne hub installation will be a 1.4-megawatt (MW) solar power system and will 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.
“On-site renewable energy generation has been extremely efficient and successful for FedEx, and we are continuously looking for new investments,” said Mitch Jackson, director of environmental aff airs and sustainability. “The solar-energy installation at the Cologne hub will nearly double FedEx’s use of on-site solar energy.”
In August 2005, FedEx flipped the switch on a solar-electric system at its regional hub in Oakland, then California’s largest such rooftop system and provides approximately 20 per cent of the facility’s total electricity needs and can meet 80 per cent of its peak load demand.
