Bengaluru International Airport to Go Solar by 2020

Our aim is to make the airport 100% renewable-energy powered by 2020. We also plan to increase our consumption through on-site and off-site solar power purchase agreements

By the year 2020, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has signed up a target of running its Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) totally on solar power.

The power demand per day for the airport is 11MW but after the completion of the second terminal, the authorities are estimating the increase to about 20 MW. The current solar power generation capacity of the airport is 3.44 MW and the proposed capacity enhancement in two phases will add extra 8.35 MW, thus amounting to 12 MW of total generation capacity.

Although the BIAL plans to source another 8MW of solar energy from off-site, the 12 MW would be from on-sight generation.

Vice President (engineering & maintenance), BIAL, S Lakshminarayanan said, “Currently, solar energy is harnessed from both roof-top and ground-mounted panels. Our aim is to make the airport 100% renewable-energy powered by 2020. We also plan to increase our consumption through on-site and off-site solar power purchase agreements.”

He said BIAL plans to install a solar power plant with a total capacity of 12MW, of which work has begun on installation of a 3.35MW capacity plant. The other plant with 5MW capacity is in the planning stage.

Authorities at Cochin International Airport Limited, Kerala has set up a 12MW solar power project within the airport complex to cater to power requirements.

Stating that conserving energy and generating renewable energy are two different areas of energy management, Lakshminarayanan said: “At BIAL, energy conservation efforts have been taken up and implemented. These include installation of LED lights, use of solar power, installation, modification and adoption of energy-efficient fittings and fixtures.”

Furthermore, except airfield ground lighting system, BIAL also plans to convert all lighting systems to LED. This will reduce the energy consumption of the airport. The amount of energy saved from use of LED will amount to 1.7 million units per year.