Nowadays, airports' interest in solar photovoltaics (PVs) is growing and many Indian based airports now use photovoltaic (PV) solar systems as one of their key energy sources. These systems provide a way to lower the burden of energy costs and to show environmental stewardship by airports (Sreenath et al., 2020a).
As of December 2022, Indian airports had cumulatively installed approximately 125 MW of solar power capacity. Of this, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) developed and commissioned in-house solar power plants totaling around 54.7 MW across various airports and PPP airports contributed 70.1 MW to the overall capacity.
Mumbai Airport has installed a 1.06MW rooftop solar power plant, which can be increased to 4.66MW (International Airport Review, 2022). Figure 1 presents Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport annual solar power generation and the year-on-year change for the period covering the 2016-2017 to 2019-2020 financial years.
The economics of airport solar installations present many benefits: Initial Investment Recovery: Large airports investing $15-25 million in solar infrastructure typically achieve complete payback within 5-8 years. Factors affecting recovery include local utility rates, available incentives, and system efficiency ratings.
Choudhary, Saxena, and Mishra 13 report that solar PV systems in three Indian airports achieved 30–40% reductions in electricity costs while advancing national renewable energy targets.
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Cochin International Airport''s journey is not just a story of technological advancement but a bold step toward a greener future. By becoming the world''s first fully solar-powered airport, CIAL
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The transformation of airports through solar power goes beyond an environmental initiative—it demonstrates the potential of large-scale solar installations. By incorporating solar
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Airports Authority of India (AAI) installs solar power plants at various Airports for generation and self-consumption of green and renewable energy to encourage green energy usage at the
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As on date, solar plants at Cochin airport have produced approximately 250 million units of power worth Rs. 170 crores (USD 22 million). This has avoided CO2 emissions by more than
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This paper investigates the sustainability practices at major Indian airports, particularly focusing on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai and Indira Gandhi International
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A major challenge in the airport solar power market is the high upfront costs of installing solar infrastructure. Despite the long-term benefits of solar power, the substantial initial investment for
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Using an in-depth instrumental case study research design, this study has examined the use of renewable green energy systems by Delhi''s Indira Gandhi Airport and Mumbai''s Chhatrapati Shivaji
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Once the solar system is installed, it requires very little maintenance during a working life of more than 20 years; most of all, in many cases, the return on investment is within 4–7 years, and
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To gain insights into energy use at airport terminal buildings during daily operations, an energy-use analysis was carried out for 118 Indian airports, including 99 managed by the Airports Authority of
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