India’s Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) is about to become the first airport in the country to be powered by the sun.
Stating it would be “absolutely power neutral” as a result, solar panels will be installed on a 45 acre plot of land near CIAL’s cargo complex.
The 12MWp array consists of solar panels produced by Renesola and ABB solar inverters. The power station will generate an estimated 48,000 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity daily and avoid the production of 300,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent emissions annually.
It’s not the first time solar has been installed at the airport. In 2013, a 100 kWp PV array was commissioned on the rooftop of the Arrival Terminal Block. Following that project was a one-megawatt installation – the first megawatt scale solar PV project in the State of Kerala.
With the existing installations, solar is expected to generate 50,000 to 60,000 kilowatt-hours a day for CIAL; enough to power all the airport’s operations.
The plant is expected to be commissioned during August 2015.
Cochin International Airport is located 28 km northeast of Kochi in an area known as Nedumbassery.
Touted as India’s first “truly eco airport”, CIAL is the nation’s 4th largest international airport in terms of international passenger traffic. Annual passenger traffic reached 6.4 million in 2014-15.
CIAL was India’s first greenfield airport (constructed from scratch on unused land) built under a public/ private partnership.
CIAL has realised that “going green” is more than just about warm and fuzzy concepts – it can positively impact on the bottom line.
“Acts of corporate social responsibility can yield genuine financial benefit as well as competitive advantage,” says a statement on the airport’s web site. “So, CIAL is implementing ambitious environmental as well as eco friendly initiatives to enhance its overall productivity and profitability.”
Airports around the world have been increasingly making use of their unused land by installing solar; either to produce electricity for on-site consumption or to generate revenue through hosting third party installations.
Some of the facilities we’ve covered in the past include Alice Springs, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Palau International Airport and Indianapolis International Airport.
