TDB to Establish Solar Power Plant in Sabarimala

20 Jan 2025 CW Team

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is set to establish a solar energy plant with technical assistance from Cochin International Airport (CIAL), which is known for being the world's first airport to be fully powered by solar energy. Officials stated that TDB authorities recently held a meeting with S Suhas, the Managing Director of CIAL, at Sannidhanam to discuss the initiative.

TDB president P S Prasanth mentioned that a preliminary discussion had taken place during the meeting. He further explained that CIAL is preparing the detailed project report (DPR) and providing technical support for the project.

Currently, the state-owned Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) handles the distribution and transmission of electricity in the Sabarimala pilgrimage area. TDB officials highlighted that the board incurs an annual electricity expense of approximately Rs 150 million, and the proposed solar plant is expected to significantly reduce this cost.

Suhas revealed that CIAL had begun activities to set up a solar power plant at Sabarimala without charging any consultancy fees, in line with its social responsibility. He added that the consultancy process would be completed within two months.

CIAL's journey with solar energy began in 2013 with a 100kWp pilot project. The airport progressively expanded its capacity and achieved the milestone of becoming the first fully solar-powered airport in the world by 2015, with an installed capacity of 13.1MWp. At present, CIAL has a total installed solar capacity of 50MWp.

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