Post by bhushraislam145 on Mar 9, 2024 0:45:47 GMT -5
The international airport of Cochin , in southern India, is the first in the world to operate completely with solar energy , thanks to a system of tens of thousands of solar panels that power the facility and give it complete energy autonomy. .
Walking in the sun among the numerous panels perfectly aligned on the esplanade that ends at the outer fence of the Cochin airport is like walking through a vineyard of dark plaques between which the heads of the workers protrude.
There are 48,154 photovoltaic panels on an area of 20 hectares of land that had no use until last February when the German company Bosch began an installation that today generates 12 megawatts of energy per day , more than enough to power the airfield in the southern state of Kerala. be self-sufficient.
There was a space available, which was previously planned for the future expansion of the cargo terminal, but which we believed could be used to build a solar panel plant," explained the general director of Cochin airport, Jose Thomas.
The plant plans to generate 18 million units of Europe Cell Phone Number List solar energy per year, the equivalent of supplying electricity to 10,000 homes at the same time.
At one of the system's control stations, workers and engineers exchange opinions on the first data offered after two days of operation.
The screen that shows all the data in real time shows how the meters drop when a cloud passes over the place and shoot up again resoundingly when the sun is projected fully onto the black crystalline mantle.
There is no danger of not accumulating enough energy ; With the start-up of the new solar energy plant, the third and largest of those in the complex, which has already built two smaller ones previously, it is estimated that it will obtain 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day, when the The airport's needs are around 48,000.
With the three solar plants together we generate a daily surplus of energy that we could sell,” Thomas confirmed.
The idea of India's fourth airport in international traffic becoming self-sufficient began to take shape in March 2013 with several projects that were developed in parallel with the increase in aircraft traffic.
"Our forecasts were good with the first two solar plants and we thought: why not make an airport capable of generating its own electricity supply?" explained the founding director of the airport facility, VJ Kurian.
The project for this large solar energy plant, with a cost close to 10 million dollars, was presented through a tender in which 18 international companies competed for the contract, which was finally won by the German company Bosch .
An investment that, however, will be more than profitable, according to the director of Cochin airport.
With what we save with the implementation of the panels, it is estimated that in approximately five years "we will have paid the cost of construction with what we stopped spending," said Thomas.
Through its subsidiary in India, Bosch built the facility in four months, turning Cochin International Airport into the world's first "green airport."
Everything is going as we expected, even somewhat better than in the previous tests, and we hope that it will continue to improve in the future," said the director of the Bosch Solar Energy department, Pradeepa KS.
Given the first step, the airport is already thinking about going further and in addition to generating its own electricity it also intends to recycle water.
We are very happy with what we have achieved with the solar panel plant, but we continue to carry out studies focused on the new international terminal to continue being a green airport,” confirmed VJ Kurian, now assistant chief secretary of the Government.