Scripting a new chapter, the Cochin International Airport has become the first in the world to operate completely on solar power. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the 12 MWp solar power plant at the airport. The plant, comprising 46,150 solar panels laid across 45 acres in the cargo complex, will enable Cochin airport to produce 50,000 to 60,000 units of solar power every day for operations. Airport authorities claimed this would technically makes the airport ‘absolutely power neutral’. The airport first ventured into solar power sector in March 2013 when they installed a 100 kWp (kilowatt peak) solar plant on the rooftop of the arrival terminal. The airport has, so far, saved more than 550MT of CO2 emission. Over the next 25 years, this green power project will avoid carbon dioxide emissions by more than three lakh metric tonnes, which is equivalent to planting 30 lakh trees.
(Source: Times News Network)