Kochi: Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has crossed another milestone in its trysts with the green energy initiatives by achieving a cumulative production volume of 25 crores units; offsetting 1,60,000 metric tons of carbon emission.
CIAL started its solar initiatives in 2013 with a 100kWp pilot plant. CIAL expanded its solar capacity in phases and attained the status of ‘World’s first airport to be fully powered by solar energy’ by 2015 with an installed capacity of 13.1MWp. CIAL now has a total installed solar capacity of 50 MWp. Together with its 4.5 MW Hydroelectric power project at Arippara, CIAL is now the second-largest power producer in Kerala after KSEB.
Till date, CIAL has generated more than 25 crores units of green power from various solar PV installations at the airport, reducing the carbon footprint by 1,60,000 Metric tonnes. The 12 MWp solar plant at Payyannur which was inaugurated in March 2022, has generated approximately One Crore units of green power to date. Arippara Small Hydro Electric Project of CIAL which was commissioned in November 2022 has also generated approximately 75 lakh units to date. Agro-photovoltaic activities utilising the vacant spaces between the solar panels in the CIAL solar plant have so far produced approximately 90 metric tonnes of pesticide-free vegetables.
“CIAL’s development policy encompasses Total Sustainability Management (TSM). We try to explore every possible way to address climate change. CIAL which achieved power neutrality in 2015 now becomes a power surplus organisation, feeding approximately 4 crores units of excess power annually to the State grid. And with the help of the Government, we are sure that we can venture into more such projects in near future”, said S Suhas IAS, Managing Director of CIAL in a press release.
Kerala Biz News