PUNE: The airport here may soon go green on the energy front as its advisory committee gears up to discuss running the facility on solar power.
The meeting is slated to take place by the month end, MP Anil Shirole, who is also the chairman of the committee, told TOI.
He said all aspects about the airport, including tapping solar power had been discussed with minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha during his visit to Pune earlier this week.
Sinha had said that the ministry was planning to power the airports in the country with solar energy.
According to sources, the airport presently has just one terminal building, so the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Airports Authority of India could join hands and start the project soon.
“The airport is expanding and the AAI has got around 32 acres of land from the MoD for a new terminal building, cargo hub and parking. Any part of the land can be used to set up a solar power plant. Other places in the airport like the rooftop of the terminal building can also be utilised. An outline of the plan will be drawn up at the meeting. Details will be finalised subsequently,” an airport official said.
The move will help the airport authority save on electricity bills. However, the cost of introducing the system is high and requires lot of space while dependent on weather.
Source: TOI
