The Indian city of Chandigarh will bet a 5 MW solar power plant at its international airport. ReNew Power Ventures Private Limited has signed a power purchase agreement with the Chandigarh International Airport (CHIAL) for solar power from the new solar system.
ReNew had won the project in a competitive bidding process in February 2016. It was one of the first tenders under the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The plant, which will use single-axis trackers, is panned to generate 8.4 GWh per year. The airport will use this power for self-consumption, hoping to reduce its power bills by 20%. Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power, said, "As their technology and innovation partners, ReNew will bring best-in-class expertise in project management and execution besides introducing tracker technology to help CHIAL maximize its yield."
In July 2016, the AAI had announced that it plans to have 146 MW of solar power capacity across its airports in the country. It has also signed a MoU with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up solar power plants at its airports (see More Solar Power For Indian Airports).
Last year, Cochin airport earned the distinction of becoming the first airport in the world to be completely powered by solar power. The capital's airport in New Delhi is also partly solar-powered – with a 7.84 MW PV system that was built by Germany-based PV company Enerparc. Recently, Mumbai International Airport increased its solar power plant, taking the total installed capacity to 1.06 MW.
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