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| Solar powered Cochin intl. airport, Kerala. www.daytodaygk.com |
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| Nathaniel H. Egleston's quote (1882). todayinsci.com |
Because of ever changing petroleum prices on the world market and oil production costs, not to speak of its threat to environment such as oil slicks, fracking of shale rocks and coal beds to produce methane gas, etc, several countries are turning to renewable energy as an alternative source. Nuclear energy is a good option, but there are inherent
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| environmental risks of shale, coal bedswww.barcombe.org |
Above image: Environmental risks of shale, coal beds fracking to produce methane gas. cancer causing chemicals are used in the fracking fluid. underground water'll be severely affected. land is not reusable.. Tar sands of Athabasca, N. Alberta is yet another .hot bed of air and water pollution..............
dangers involved in nuclear power plants in case of some mishap, besides large investments and cost overruns. As for hydro electric power production in India and across the world, it is not encouraging because of climate change and poor rain in the catchment areas. So man has now turned his attention to solar energy on a grand scale to produce electricity to supplement additional requirements. We have seen solar-powered cars and even aircraft in operation, though on a minor scale. Here in India solar energy is used in thousands of homes across each state and in farms where solar fences are used widely to prevent the entry of wild elephants and other animals.
Above image: Europe's largest coal fired power station. It's causing lung, eye and other health problems. Drax Power Station, Drax, Yorkshire, England.............
Since the sun is the perennial source of energy, world over, the energy scenario is changing at a rapid clip. Solar energy will have effective and helpful impact on our environment since it is 100% clean energy - no pollutants, no green - house effects in this era of global warming that has impacted many countries. Most importantly, the source is ever-lasting and will stay for ever.
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| Dangers of Oil slick: Santa Barbara coast, California. .www.cnn.com |
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| camels and luxury of solar power! cartoonstock.com |
The southern state of Kerala is a pioneering state in many fields. Since centuries, it has been a leading producer of spices in the world. Kerala is also one among the few Indian states to care about the dying "Historical Monuments" and the government runs a separate section to restore heritage sites on a priority basis. Last year, Kerala was in the news regarding solar energy. So is West Bengal which 's begun to give importance to solar energy.
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| 100% Solar powered Cochin intl. airport, Kerala.www.asiadespatch.org |
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| Sun above sea wave below. cartoonstock.com |
Cochin International Airport that operates numerous flights to destinations in the Gulf states and other places has the unique distinction of becoming the first ever solar power-operated airport in the world. In the annals of aviation industry, this airport has become the first trail blazer. Indeed an excellent job well done. Last year in August (2015) the 12 MWp solar power plant was inaugurated by Kerala’s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
As for the information available, the airport’s solar power plant situated close to the cargo complex is spread over 45 acres of land and is being run by the parent company CIAL - Cochin International Airport Limited. The plant, first of a kind in India, has more than 46,000 solar panels capable of generating 50,000 to 60,000 units of electric power every day. The total cost of this plant is Rs. 60 crores.
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| 100% Solar powered Cochin intl. airport, Kerala. truthimmortal.com |
According to the CIAL Director in his interview to the BBC, Urdu, the Cochin Airport operations required an estimated 50,000 units of electricity on a daily basis that would be met by the new integrated solar power plant. The company further stated that airport’s dependency on solar-power makes it ‘absolutely power neutral’.
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| Dangers of coal fired power plants: www.polywellnuclearfusion.com |
Above image: Dangers of coal fired power plants: The largest sources of mercury pollution are coal-fired power plants. Airborne mercury emitted by these facilities can be deposited anywhere ............ .
Following the foot step of Cochin, the Kolkata Subhash Chara Bose International Airport has a plan to set up 15 MW solar power plant on a 60 acre spread to run the airport and the ambitious plan was announced last year . This new project would cost the AAI more than Rs.100 crores. Already it became the first airport in the country to have a 2 MW roof-top solar power plant.The monetary benefit will be worth Rs.2.16 crore annually. Currently the airport is spending Rs.18 crore annually toward electricity. The major advantage of roof-top solar panel is it reduces the load on the air-conditioner and the transmission loss is zero.
India has plans to increase the current capacity 4 GW to 100 GW by 1922 and this ambitious plan requires latest $100 billion investment. Taking their cue from Kerala and West Bengal, other states should ponder about solar powered airports and other big public buildings.
Ref:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Airport-turns-greener-with-2MW-solar-plant/articleshow/50202437.cms
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