Cochin International Airport generates 25 cr units of green energy

On Saturday, Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial) achieved another milestone as its green energy generation touched 25 crore units of electricity, neutralising approximately 1.6 lakh metric tonnes of carbon emission.

Now, Cial is the second-largest energy producer in the state after Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), and 75 lakh units of its total power produced so far was from its hydropower project alone.

Cial began its solar initiatives in 2013 by establishing a 100kW plant on the experimental ground. Later, Cial augmented its solar capacity in multiple phases and achieved the status of 'the world's first airport to be powered by solar energy in 2015, with an installed capacity of 13.1 MW. Cial now has a total installed solar capacity of 50 MWp With further expansion of the solar plant.

To date, Cial has produced more than 25 crore units of green power from different solar PV installations at the airport, lowering the carbon footprint by 1,60,000 metric tonnes. The 12 MWp solar plant at Payyannur has generated about 1 crore units of green power to date and was inaugurated in March 2022. Integrating its solar and hydropower project, Cial is now the second-largest power producer in the state after KSEB.

The 4.5 MW small hydroelectric projects at Arippara near Kozhikode, which were launched by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in November 2021, have produced roughly 75 lakh units to date. The plant, which has a 32 m-wide and 10 m-high check dam constructed across the Iruvazhinji River, is anticipated to produce 14 million units of power yearly.

Cial managing director S Suhas told the media that Cial's development policy encloses total sustainability management (TSM). The firm tries to explore every possible way to manage climate change.

Cial, which reached power neutrality in 2015, now becomes a power surplus organisation, feeding about 4 crore units of excess power yearly to the state grid. And with the support of the government, the firm is sure that it can venture into more such projects shortly.

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