Friday, June 06, 2014: In what marks as a crucial step forward in its quest to establish solar power plants at airports across the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) with respect to the same. AAI plans to install 50 MW of cumulative capacity solar plants in Phase I under this initiative. This will further be increased to 150 MW over a certain period of time.
The solar power plants will be installed on surplus piece of AAI-authorised land as well as on the roof tops of its structures. Moreover, AAI plans to feed the surplus power that will be left after fulfilling its own requirements into the grid. AAI has chosen a total of 30 airports as sites for its solar power ambitions.
Earlier, the Delhi Metro had announced that it will soon be installing a rooftop solar power plant at the Dwarka Sector 21 station, the juncture of the Blue line and Airport Line. The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) took the initiative to counter electricity bills and adopt more renewable sources for electricity. It will explore the possibility of installing more solar power plants at its other stations.
