Puducherry airport has become the Airports Authority of India’s (AAI) first entirely solar-powered airport in the country with the commissioning of 500KWp ground-mounted solar power plant at a cost of Rs 2.8 crore.
The present amount of daily electricity consumption by the airport, they will be able to recover this amount in a span of roughly 5 years. The solar panels are expected to last for about 25 years, so the airport has at least two decades of significant savings based on this plan, not to mention the benefit to the environment. CIAL also has plans to sell the surplus energy produced from the plant back to the local electricity utility: Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
Power plant was inaugurated by Hon Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy, on 18 August 2015
It comprised 46,150 solar panels Laid across 45 acres of land near the air cargo complex. Now, Cochin Airport will have 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day available to power all of its operational functions, making the airport “absolutely power neutral”.
Since commissioning, these plants have saved more than 550Mtonnes of CO2 emissions, thus contributing significantly to The efforts of CIAL to reduce environmental degradation.
The solar plant will be able to prevent 3,00,000 tons of carbon emission from coal-fired power plants over a period of 25 years, which is equivalent to planting 3 million trees or eliminating 750 million miles of driving a fossil-fuel burning car in that same time frame. In other words, apart from saving money, the plant will significantly reduce global warming by producing greener and cleaner energy, hopefully inspiring others to follow suit.
The Indian government hopes that other airports and industrial plants will follow Cochin airport’s example and turn to solar energy for their power needs. This will help the country reduce its carbon emission, thus making the environment of the entire planet safer and cleaner.
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