SME Times News Bureau | 24 Oct, 2021
The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) will be opening a hydropower
plant at Arippara near Kozhikode and according to an estimate, it will
generate 14 million units. Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan will
inaugurate the plant on November 6. The power from the plant will be fed
to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) grid from November first
week.
CIAL is considered the world's first green airport as it is fully powered by solar energy.
The
4.5MW power plant was awarded to the CIAL by the Kerala state
electricity board as per the Kerala small hydropower policy under the
Built- Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) for a lease period of 30 years.
An
overflow type of weir (dam) is constructed across the Iruvazhinji
river, which diverts the water to an intake pool from where the intake
structure and connected water conductor system starts. A surge tank was
constructed to moderate the water flow during load acceptance and load
rejection time.
CIAL completed the project in September 2021 and
the trial run started in October and the total project cost is Rs 52
crore. The power plant is expected to generate 1.08 lakh units of power a
day during peak flow days and will be operational for a minimum of 130
days a year.
Managing Director of CIAL, S. Suhas in a statement
said that the project would lead to more such hydroelectric projects in
the state which has 44 rivers and numerous streams. He said that the
potential of renewable energy is immense and that if proper
technological imagination is used, joint ventures could be set up to
harness the light of the sun, the power of the wind, and the strength of
the rushing streams and to be more productive in using energy.
Suhas
said that the project at Arippara works on limited storage of water and
that no adverse effect is caused to the environment.
