Bangalore Airport Will Be Fully Solar-Powered By 2020!

Following Cochin Airport’s footsteps, Bangalore Airport is planning to become a fully solar-powered airport by 2020.

According to airport authorities, there is a power demand of 11 MW per day at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Once the second terminal is completed, they estimate that the power demand will go up to 20 MW per day.

The airport currently generates around 3.44 MW from solar panels. Bangalore International Airport Limited(BIAL) has proposed an expansion of its solar panel system which will add another 8.35 MW, bringing the total to around 12 MW.

To cater to the future 20MW demand, BIAL will source another 8 MW of solar energy from off-site.

Mr. S Lakshminarayanan, Vice President (engineering & maintenance) of BIAL, has said that the solar energy at the airport is harnessed from roof-top and ground-mounted solar panels. BIAL aims to make the airport 100% powered by renewable energy by increasing this capacity and adding more solar panels.

He also said that energy conservation efforts have been taken up and implemented at the airport.

BIAL plans to convert all lighting, except the airfield lighting system, to LED for energy conservation. As of now all streetlights outside the airport and 50% of the lights in the terminal are LED. The airport can save 1.7 Million units of energy per year because of LED lights.

Mr.Hari Marar, CEO of BIAL, has said that a combination of solar power, water management system and LED lighting can ensure that the airport achieves a “3+ Carbon Rating”, which is the highest level of achievement in the field of environmental impact, for airports.

He also said that a ‘Solid Waste Management’ plant is under construction, which will be operational by 2019.This will make KIA the first airport in Asia to have an in-house solid waste management facility.

Cochin Airport is the only airport in India which is fully powered by solar energy. In fact, it was the first airport in the world to implement this system.