Officials at the Kochi airpot claim that the impact of this solar power plant on the environment is like planting three million trees.
The Kochi airport in Kerala has become the first in the world to operate on solar power on August 18, it will meet its electricity requirement by generating over 48,000 units of electricity through a 12 Mega Watt solar power plant spread over 45 acres.
"We are setting an example, world over... Financially also it has been very promising. We started with pilot project and then escalated it after continuous monitoring", VJ Kurien, Airport Director told NDTV.
The plant will be connected to the Kerala State Electricity Board grid (KSEB), the excess power generated will be supplied to the state run grid on a daily basis. This will also act as a bank for cloudy days, and the airport can import from the grid when power generation can drop. The whole process is metered by KSEB
Satish Kumar Pai, senior manager of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) said, "Power will be imported from the grid on a zero payment basis...In a month it will be carried on until the year of settlement, when it will be calculated if energy imported from the grid is more or exported to the grid is more and accounts will be settled."
The airport aims to recover the Rs 62 crore spent on the plant within six years, by supplying excess power to the state at an average cost of Rs four per unit.
Environmentalists have welcomed the move, but voiced their concerns.
S Seetaraman told NDTV, "The panels are placed down on the ground (patch) when the heat energy reflects from the panel after the harnessing of energy, that will be moving in the space...temperature in the surroundings may increase by 2 or 3 degrees."
The airport authorities claim that the impact of this solar power plant on the environment is like planting three million trees.