Solar carport to add glow to Cochin International Airport Limited

KOCHI: The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) is set to ready the biggest carport in the country generating solar power by spending Rs 22 crore. The facility will enable parking of 1,400 cars. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will announce the partial commissioning of the project at a function at the airport on Saturday. The new facility will generate 62,000 units of power daily. Though the current production is in excess of the requirement at the two existing terminals, the commissioning of Terminal-3 will require more power in the first phase of the new solar project, 6 MWs power production is envisaged.

This will include one MW from the solar panels on the carport, two MWs from the solar panels on the southern side of the airport and three MWs from the hangar side. The total spent on the project is Rs 30 crore. The largest carport in two phases will be in an area of 2.25 lakh sq ft. There is a fibre reinforced plastic facility to clean the panels from the platform which total up to 8,500. The installed capacity of the plant is 2.7 MW. When the two phases are commissioned, a total of 11,000 units of power will be produced daily.