India’s Cochin International Airport is set to become the first in the world powered entirely by solar energy. Situated in Kochi, the airport handled 6.8 million passengers last year and forecasts a 330,700-ton reduction in carbon emissions over the next 25 years as a result of the switch to solar power. That’s the equivalent of planting three million trees or not driving 750 million miles.
The airport’s energy neutrality is possible thanks to a 12-megawatt solar system consisting of more than 46,000 panels installed on a 50-acre site. The system can generate up to 60,000 units of electricity daily. According to Al Jazeera America, the project took six months to build and cost $10 million, which the airport anticipates it will recover within five years.
Cochin Airport’s solar panel arrays were designed and installed by Bosch Ltd., which has a five-year partnership with the airport. The installation was done by Emvee Photovoltaic Power Pvt. Ltd. 4000 monocrystalline modules of 250Wp with 33 numbers of 30kW capacity Delta make string inverters were used in this plant, which is the first Megawatt scale installation of solar PV system in Kerala.Both these plants are equipped with a SCADA system, through which remote monitoring is carried out.
The airport began testing solar energy in March 2013, when it installed a small solar plant on the arrival terminal’s rooftop. The project has been seen as a model for the rest of India, and the government is urging other airports to follow suit.
India’s goal is to ramp up solar capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2022. Its current capacity is four gigawatts. India has a broader goal to derive 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2022, with 3 percent coming exclusively from solar. Earlier this summer, the government rolled out new incentives to encourage developers to turn to renewable energy.
