Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), the world's first solar-powered airport, took its first steps in producing sustainable energy on Saturday when it commissioned its own hydroelectric project. CIAL plans to supply power from its hydro plant at Arippara near Kozhikode to KSEB once it has been commissioned.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the hydroelectric plant today at 11am. It is estimated to generate 14 million units of power annually.

Using natural downward flow of rivers and microturbine generators to capture water's kinetic energy, the hydroelectric plant is a "run-of-river" project. CIAL constructed a weir dam across Iruvazhinji River and hydro-mechanical and electro-mechanical systems near Kodencheri, in Kozhikode district.

According to an official statement, the small hydro project (SHP) of CIAL uses a limited amount of water and cannot adversely affect the environment due to its run-of-river nature.

Under the plan, an overflow type weir is built across the river, which diverts water to an intake pool, from which the intake structure and the water conductor system (WCS) are accessed.

“A surge tank was constructed to moderate the water flow during load acceptance and load rejection time,” a statement said. “A penstock feeds two machines each of 2.25 MW capacity. A powerhouse, with horizontal turbines, is installed at the right bank of the river with an installed capacity of 4.5MW.”

The site is located approximately 45 km from Kozhikode City in Nellipoyil Village near Kodencheri in the Kozhikode district. Additionally, the airport purchased five acres of land from 32 residents in the area, for a total of about ₹52 crore. It is estimated that the powerhouse could produce 1,08 lakh units of electricity a day during peak flow days and could operate at full capacity for 130 days a year.

“When the country is deliberating on power crisis, it is the leadership and guidance of the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as the Chairman of CIAL, which turned out to be decisive to speed up the project implementation,” S Suhas, the Managing Director of CIAL, said in a statement. “We are sure that, this will impart further momentum to set up such hydro projects across the state which has 44 rivers and numerous streams.”

Image source: Times of India