Cochin International Airport, located in southwest India, is producing 50,000 to 60,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per day with its solar power plant, which makes it the first airport in the world to completely operate on solar power.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the 12 MWp (megawatts peak) plant Aug. 18, declaring the airport “power neutral,” meaning it produces more net power than it purchases from the main power grid. The plant, consisting of 46,150 photovoltaic panels, is spread over 45 acres.
The airport started this journey in March 2013 by adding a 100 kWp (kilowatts peak) solar plant – installed by Kolkata-based Vikram Solar – to the rooftop of the arrival terminal block. Another smaller plant (1.1 MWp) was installed by Emvee Photovoltaic Power and was the first megawatt-scale installation of a solar photovoltaic system in the state of Kerala.
Both plants are equipped with supervisory control and data acquisition systems for remote monitoring. So far, the plants have prevented more than 550 million tonnes of CO2 from being emitted.
The larger solar plant was set up in an area of about 45 acres near the International Cargo complex, with the work awarded to Bosch Ltd. With the commissioning, this installation is expected to generate around 48,000 kWh per day, which, along with the electricity generated from the existing 1.1 MWp plant, makes the total output around 52,000 kWh a day – sufficient to meet the power requirements of the airport.