Airport Solar Report card-12 Airports Switched To Solar In 2024, UP Leads

The latest data shared by the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply, said that about  80 airports have switched over to 100% green energy usage since 2014 in India. Besides trailblazer Kochy, it includes Bengaluru and Hubli Airport. Airports viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru have achieved Level 4+ and higher Airports International Council (ACI) accreditation and have become carbon-neutral. The shared data showed that 12 significant solar projects were undertaken by the government this year i.e., 2024

A Brief Overview

Five states host the majority of solar projects in airports, among these, Uttar Pradesh hosts most of these projects. These states  are Uttar Pradesh – 8 projects, Gujarat – 7 projects, Maharashtra – 5 projects, Tamil Nadu – 5 projects, Karnataka – 4 projects

Uttar Pradesh ranks first with the highest number of solar-powered airports in India, boasting a total of eight airports: Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Bareilley, Kushinagar, Meerut, and Agra. These airports reflect the state’s significant commitment to renewable energy, with most of the installations occurring in 2023. Gujarat holds seven solar-powered airports across the state, including Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Kandla, and Porbandar, all set up in 2023. Maharashtra follows closely with five airports featuring solar installations, including major locations like Nashik (2019) and Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, and Kolhapur (2022). Whereas, Tamil Nadu holds five airports—Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, and Tuticorin all set in 2023—contributing to the state’s renewable energy goals. whereas, Karnataka hosts four solar-powered airports in Bengaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi, and Mysuru (2022) showcasing the state’s dedication to sustainable energy initiatives.

MoCA  Initiatives

Under the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) airport operators including the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have installed solar power plants at various locations/Airports for generation and self-consumption of green and renewable energy to encourage green energy usage at the airports. In addition, a few airports are also procuring green energy through open access. Other initiatives include the adoption of building design as per Green building Standards, conversion of conventional vehicles to electric vehicles, energy-efficient Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC), lighting and baggage handling systems, etc. 

Optimum use of national airspace by fully implementing the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) has also been suggested by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat vision.  This has led to cumulative savings of approximately saving of Rs. 868.1 crore by all reporting airlines by way of significant savings in flight time & fuel usage and also a cumulative reduction of more than 188538.5 tonnes in CO2 Emission since 01 Aug 2020.

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) takes into consideration the Capital expenditure relating to Green Energy Projects, Carbon Neutrality, etc. during the Tariff determination process of Major Airports.