Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Saturday inaugurated 4 MW solar power plant in the campus of the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Odisha capital making it one of 100% sustainable airports in country.
The solar power plant, installed at a cost of Rs 18.75 crore in the operational area of the airport, includes 10,530 PV modules of 380 watt each in an area of 13.28 acre. With this, the airport would meet around 60% of its electricity need through its onsite solar generation and the rest 40% from other sources such as hydro energy.
Prasanna Pradhan, director, BPIA, who was present at the inauguration of the plant, said, “We are delighted to achieve this milestone in efforts for attaining a sustainable future for the airport. As BPIA aspires to become net-zero, this achievement further encourages us to stay committed to enhancing the airport’s operational efficiency while operating on fully renewable energy.”
In its endeavour for sustainable energy, the airport initially installed a 100 kw rooftop solar power plant in 2013. It witnessed a rise in natural energy generation of 9,35,963 KWH (solar power) between December 2022 and April 2023. The airport eventually strengthened the production to 4 MW.
