The 20-year-old International airport in the South Indian city of Kochi has now become the world’s first solar-powered airport. With its new solar plant, the airport can now produce more than 50,000 units of electricity, making it self-sufficient in terms of energy. And, the solar panels at the airport are made in China.

Cochin International Airport in Kerala has had many feathers in its cap – it was India’s first private public partnership airport and it’s also the 7th busiest airport in the country. But, never one to rest on its laurels, Cochin International airport has now become the world’s only airport run entirely on solar power…..The man behind it is…VJ Kurian. What started as a pilot project when the state’s electricity department hiked prices is now a massive bed of solar panels, generating enough electricity to make this airport self-sufficient. But like any new journey, this one came with its own challenges.

"One was the technology. The second was the criticism that you are going to use so much of land, precious land that could be utilized for something else. Because this land where we have out up the panels is meant for the future expansion of the cargo so then I came with a solution that as and when we build the terminal building we will put this on the top of it," V J Kurian, maanging director of Cochin International Airport, said.

On this land more than 46,000 solar panels are meeting the demands of the airport. The 12-megawatt plant generates more than 50,000 units of electricity every day. The entire project was set up in 6 months and cost 10 million dollars. The airport will recover all the money invested in just 5 years.

"We had to have clear planning and analysis of the airport top get this off the ground. And another constraint was convincing and getting permission from the grid authorities," Santhese Kumar Pai, seniro manager of Cochin International Airport, said.

The South Indian state of Kerala gets harsh sun like this virtually all-year round. But it also gets heavy rain for two months and ‘till now hydropower has been used extensively to generate electricity. But with the success of solar power that is all set to change.

The Indian government plans a five-fold increase the use of solar power by 2022 and some airports around India have been asked to generate at least 1 megawatt of solar power by March 2016.

"The whole of Kerala should go to solar because we have so much of sunshine. People should set up solar panels on their rooftops and the hydro project should work only in the night when the sun goes down,"  V J Kurian, maanging director of Cochin International Airport, said.

The world is already taking notice. Paula and Robert are here to take the same model to Liberia’s International Airport.

"With the effects of climate change we see the effect of what is happening in other countries. But we want to be able to preserve what we have. We have a lot of green. We want to be able to preserve that as opposed to having to fight in the future to get back we already have," Paula Fares Harvey, deputy general manager of Roberts Int'l Airport, said.

Over the next 25 years, the Cochin Airport will cut 300,000 tons of carbon emissions, which is equal to planting 3 million trees. The Indian government is looking at solar as a major source of power and is planning an investment of 100 billion dollars in the sector by 2022.One of the many ways the country plans to meet its massive power demands.

• [Editor:tianyawei]