When it opened in 1999, Kochi Airport at Nedumbassery became a trendsetter by being the first ever Airport to be built under the Private-Public Partnership model in India. It doesn’t boast of a magnanimous building with glass and steel structures unlike other major airports around the country. With a simple traditional temple architecture, one is sure to feel at home here, at this airport.
16 years later, raising the bar for other Airports, Kochi achieved a major environmental milestone last August by becoming the first airport in the world to be completely powered by Solar Energy. The project involved setting up of 46,000 solar power panels, laid out across 45 acres of land near the cargo area. It took six months to be set up and costs around 62 crore rupees. It is expected to produce a maximum of 12 mega watts of power under optimum conditions. This will provide around 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day significant enough to meet all the Airport’s electricity needs.
It all started when the airport manager realized that the Kerala State Electricity Board was charging them a bit on the high side. In 2013, they proposed a 100 KWp Solar plant on the roof of one of the buildings. Following its success, a 1 MWp plant was set up after that at the maintenance hangar.
When they identified that solar energy is indeed the more desirable way, they decided to scale it up on a giant scale.
For Kochi Airport, which is the fourth largest airport in India in terms of passengers, being ‘power neutral’ via solar energy is not just any technical achievement, it’s a revolutionary phenomenon, given India’s addiction to coal.
15/10/15 Sharat Karekatt/Youth Kiawaz
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16 years later, raising the bar for other Airports, Kochi achieved a major environmental milestone last August by becoming the first airport in the world to be completely powered by Solar Energy. The project involved setting up of 46,000 solar power panels, laid out across 45 acres of land near the cargo area. It took six months to be set up and costs around 62 crore rupees. It is expected to produce a maximum of 12 mega watts of power under optimum conditions. This will provide around 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day significant enough to meet all the Airport’s electricity needs.
It all started when the airport manager realized that the Kerala State Electricity Board was charging them a bit on the high side. In 2013, they proposed a 100 KWp Solar plant on the roof of one of the buildings. Following its success, a 1 MWp plant was set up after that at the maintenance hangar.
When they identified that solar energy is indeed the more desirable way, they decided to scale it up on a giant scale.
For Kochi Airport, which is the fourth largest airport in India in terms of passengers, being ‘power neutral’ via solar energy is not just any technical achievement, it’s a revolutionary phenomenon, given India’s addiction to coal.
15/10/15 Sharat Karekatt/Youth Kiawaz
