Bhubaneswar, Dec. 21: Biju Patnaik International Airport is planning to develop a five megawatt (MW) solar power plant, so that it can trap energy to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the airport.
This will be the second project of its kind at the airport. A 100 kilowatt (kW) solar power plant is already working on the top of the cooling tower of the airport. It was commissioned last year.
In the process, the airport can also sell surplus power generated.
'We are getting more than three hours of power supply for the new domestic terminal (T1) from the 100kW solar power plant,' said airport director Sharad Kumar.
Kumar told The Telegraph a 25-acre plot inside the airport boundary towards the Gangamunda end would be used for the solar power plant. To have photovoltaic cells to manufacture 1MW of power, one has to install the photovoltaic cell panels over five acres.
'We need no extra land from the state government for this project as we have sufficient land with us,' he said.
Mentioning the micro-grid concept in the western countries, where housing societies produce power from solar photovoltaic cells and provide the electricity back to the local grid, the airport director said: 'After consuming a part of the power generated from the 5MW plant, we may be able to contribute to the local grid.'
The airport director said the new 5MW plant proposal is with its central headquarters in Delhi and work will start in Bhubaneswar after it is approved.
'The new plant will follow the built-own-operate formula, for which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will sign an agreement with a company, which will commission the plant. The company will invest the money and not the AAI. But after it is ready, the authority will buy power from the company, and the company can sell a certain percentage to the state government's local grid,' said Kumar.
The state government's Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (Gedcol) has identified 126 rooftops in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to produce 5MWsolarpower.While the tender process already started last September for the power project, it may take another year to be completed. Gedcol will invest around Rs 40 crore to Rs 45 crore in the project.
The project will be executed in technical consultation with the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute. This will be the first of its kind project to go for 5MW electricity fromsolarpower in Odisha by the state government.
While in Bhubaneswar, the secretariat building, Gridco building, Utkal University and the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology building will be some of the important sites for thesolarpower project, in Cuttack, the Ravenshaw College, SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack Municipal Corporation and the high court building will be included in thesolar power project.