KOCHI: From being the world’s first fully solar-powered airport, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) achieved another milestone in sustainable development. The airport has scaled up its agri-voltaic farming up to 20 acres, the largest of its kind in the country. Agricultural photovoltaic (Agri-PV), also known as agri-voltaics, is an evolving practice that combines the production of food and energy. The land here is used for both agriculture and solar power generation at the same time.
CIAL had earlier experimented with organic farming on one of its eight solar plants on the premises of the airport. The biggest one near the cargo terminal has an area of 45 acres, of which 20 acres have been used for farming. On the land, vegetables such as yam, long yard bean, drumstick, mountain ginger, turmeric, cabbage, cauliflower and green chili are cultivated.
The water used to clean solar photovoltaic panels is being used to irrigate the crops. The crops are expected to modify the micro-climates underneath PV modules by reducing the temperature, which results in increasing efficiency in power generation. Moreover, the crop coverage in between the panel arrays will check the erosion of soil. Another advantage is that the cultivation dampens weed growth.
CIAL Managing Director S Suhas said the agri-voltaic practice is a great opportunity for both the solar and agricultural sectors. “Optimum usage of available land and re-usage of water are other advantages here. It is a new sustainability model for consuming resources. It has multiple benefits, including reduced plant drought stress, greater food production and reduced PV panel heat stress,” Suhas added.
CIAL now has a total installed capacity of 40 MWp. Its PV plants produce 1.6 lakh units of power a day, whereas the daily consumption stands at 1.3 lakh units. CIAL’s power plants are coupled with the Kerala State Electricity Board’s power grid. In November, the airport operator ventured into hydropower production as it commissioned a 4.5 MW hydro plant at Arippara.