Bhubaneswar airport switches to green energy sources

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Bhubaneswar, has entirely switched to green sources for its energy consumption, making it one of India’s 100 per cent sustainable airports.

The airport has installed 4MWp Ground Mounted Solar Power Plant at Operational area that includes 10530 PV modules of 380W each over area of 13.28 Acres with a project cost of 18.75 Crore.

The 4 MW Power plant was inaugurated by Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi today in presence of BPIA Director Prasanna Pradhan.

Bhubaneswar airport produces around 60 per cent of the airport’s electricity requirement through its onsite solar generation and the rest 40 per cent from other green sources such as hydro energy.

Ushering into a sustainable future, BPIA witnessed a rise in natural energy generation of 935963 KWH (Solar power generation) from December 2022 to April 2023 and total unit imported from grid for Airport consumption is 2719046 KWH, which is around 35 percent. and finally attained the 100 per cent utilization of renewable sources of energy in April 2023,

The airport is committed to continuous reduction in energy consumption and carbon footprint through various initiatives. Moreover, BPIA initially undertook the measure of installing a 100KWp rooftop solar power plant since 28th August 2013, which the airport eventually strengthened to 4.1MW.BPIA which solely runs on green energy since April 2023, thus enabling a highly efficient and low-carbon future for aviation. This sustainable initiative undertaken by BPIA is part of the airport’s efforts that reduce its carbon footprint, which propels its journey towards ‘Net Zero’ emissions.

“We are delighted to achieve this key milestone in our journey towards attaining a sustainable future for BPIA. The diligent efforts of the airport in undertaking several thoughtful initiatives have paved the way to achieve this feat. As BPIA aspires to become net-zero, this landmark event further encourages us to stay committed to enhancing the airport’s operational efficiency while operating on fully renewable energy,” said BPIA Director Prasanna Pradhan.

At present, Bhubaneswar airport has certificate for Level 2 Carbon reduction awarded on 07.01.2020 and become eligible for achieving Level-3 Carbon Emission reduction.