Trichy Airport Commissions 1 MW Solar Plant to Meet 25% Demand

The Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) International Airport in Tamil Nadu recently commissioned a new 1 MW solar PV power plant on campus. Airports Authority of India (AAI) member Anuj Agarwal inaugurated the planet on the airport premises.

The project was executed under the National Solar Mission. The ground-mounted solar power plant was developed under a capex model and commenced operation three months after work began on the project. The project developers and airport officials expect the solar plant to produce 15.4 lakh units a year, which in return is expected to cover 25 percent of the airport’s energy demands.

The project developed at a cost of Rs 4.64 crore is expected to save the airport Rs 1.23 crore by way of electricity expenditure per year. The payback period expected of the plant would be three years and nine months. The electricity sourced from the plant would light up the airport premises throughout the day while regular electricity supply will take care of the consumption at night. AAI also said that it was looking forward to effectively minimizing greenhouse gas emissions thereby contributing to India’s goal of minimizing environmental degradation. 

The Airport director K Gunasekaran told reporters that, “the use of solar power to meet our electricity demand will save several lakhs per month.”

In February, the Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore) inaugurated its 3.35 MW rooftop solar power plant. The power generated from the rooftop systems is being used to meet the electricity demands of the airport.

The solar system is expected to generate around 4.7 million units of power per annum, a number based on which the airport authority predicts they could go self-sufficient for meeting power demands as early as next year.

Installed across eight rooftops the solar power plant is expected to reduce 3,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The contemporary design of the solar panels installed by Sunshot ensures that the glare of the sun is not reflected for the safety of aircraft operations. The solar structure is also lightweight, leak-proof, corrosion-free and can withstand high winds.