Kerala’s Cochin International Airport – which claims to be the first in the world powered entirely by solar – has commissioned a 452 kWp floating PV plant.
The array, on two artificial lakes at the 130-acre airport golf course, covers an acre of the water surfaces.
The installation takes the airport’s solar generation capacity to 40 MWp, helping it produce around 1.6 lakh kWh per day against daily consumption of about 1.3 lakh kWh, the airport said.
The floating plant features high-density polyethylene floats which host 1,300 solar panels.
Trials
Pre-commissioning trials demonstrated the panels, which cost around INR2 crore, were producing power with maximum output efficiency, as one of eight solar arrays distributed on airport property, added the airport.
The floating plant is connected to the Kerala State Electricity Board grid.
French floating PV specialist Ciel & Terre provided technical assistance on the project.
“Traditionally, the installation of [a] floating power plant costs two to three times more than that of [a] ground-mounted one but the use of … novel French technology allowed [the airport] to bring down the project cost [to be on] par with that of [a] floor installation,” stated the airport.
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