Cochin International Airport, located in the state of Kerala in southwestern India, will be the first airport in the world to operate exclusively on solar power, thereby significantly reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
The new solar power plant, which provides the airport with its own power, covers an area of about 18.2 hectares, consists of 46,150 solar panels and is located next to this international airport. The capacity of this solar power plant is about 12 megawatts and it takes 6 months to build.
The project began two years ago, in March 2013, when a series of solar panels were installed on the airport roof. Seeing the positive results of this installation, new solar panels were installed—some on the airport roof and others on the ground—providing 1.1 megawatts of power.
Currently, the airport is served by a total of 13.1 megawatts clean energy capacity, enabling the following over the next 25 years: carbon dioxide emissions savings amount to 300,000 metric tons, which would be equivalent to planting 3 million trees. The investment made in this project amounted to approximately 10 million dollars.
