Vijayawada Airport goes green with solar power
In 2018, AAI awarded the tender for setting up a 1 MW solar power plant to Novus Green Energy Systems Limited and works commenced from December 2018.
VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Airport equipped with a solar power generator of 1 MW capacity, has been awarded the status of a green project. According to reports, as part of the ‘Green Airports Initiative’ undertaken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, two airports in Andhra Pradesh were shortlisted for the prestigious initiative. As per recommendations made by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), solar power plants with a production capacity of 1MW were set up at Tirupati and Vijayawada airports, and the one present in the city, became operational on Thursday.
In 2018, AAI awarded the tender for setting up a 1 MW solar power plant to Novus Green Energy Systems Limited and works commenced from December 2018. The officials concerned, successfully completed the installation works and synchronised the plant to APSPDCL under net metering policy. The powerhouse will generate approximately 14 lakh units per annum.
Speaking to TNIE, Vijayawada Airport Director, G Madhusudan Rao, said, “Under the Green Airports Initiative, a solar power plant with a production capacity of 1 MW was installed at Vijayawada Airport. We also adopted several power saving measures and switched from the regular lighting system to LEDs. Our daily consumption is around 12,000 to 13,000 units of power per day.
With the help of the plant around 4,500 units of power are being generated, thereby fulfiling 40 per cent of our consumption. We are also planning to set up an additional 2 to 3 MW solar power plant with a dedicated substation for the airport.”