Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has delved into hydropower generation after becoming the world’s first airport totally powered by solar energy.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will commission CIAL’s first hydropower plant, which is being built near Kozhikkode at Arippara. The plant is expected to generate 14 million units of electricity each year, according to CIAL. From the first week of November, the power will be delivered into the KSEB grid.
CIAL was awarded the 4.5 MWp run-of-river small hydro project (SHP) by the Kerala Power Department under the Kerala Small Hydropower Policy under Built-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) for a 30-year lease. At Arippara, near Kodencheri in Kozhikode district, CIAL began construction of a weir across the Iruvazhinji River, as well as hydro-mechanical and electro-mechanical equipment.
