The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to install solar panels near the main runway to reduce the use of power from the grid at Chennai Airport.
A tender, which was issued in 2018, has been given to a contractor and the process is on to install the panels on an 8.58-acre land identified in the northern corner of the main runway, close to the Pallavaram side.
The panels will generate around 6.5 MW of power which will be connected to the grid. The project is estimated to cost Rs 44 crore and is part of the AAI’s ‘Go Green’ initiative, which includes installation of LED lights at the terminals and airfield. The power generated from the panels will be used for terminals and a balance of 11 kV will be supplied to the grid through a sub-station.
The airport already has a rooftop solar plant at the cargo complex which generates five MW power. The airport has a total connected load of 17,55 kW and total consumption of around 83.23 million units.
The AAI has already converted the airport lights into LED and has also bought six sets of LED base lights for disaster relief 2018. These can also be charged using solar power.
There was a plan to have solar panels at different locations in the operational areas, but only one location has been identified as the authorities are also looking at large-scale sourcing of solar power from a company. This is expected to be in the range of 12 MW to 20 MW.
