After Solar-Powered Airport, Kochi's JLN Stadium To Run Fully On Solar Energy

In 2015 Cochin International Airport (CIAL) had become the first airport in the world to be completely powered by solar energy.

It had received praise from across the world and was awarded the United Nation¡¯s 2018 Champions of the Earth Award for Entrepreneurial Vision.

The energy self-sufficient airport had become a model that has been replicated around the country and the world.

BCCL

Now following its footsteps, the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium in the city is all set to adopt renewable energy to run it.

The JLN Stadium which has hosted several international cricket matches, the Fifa Under-17 World Cup and Indian Super League (ISL) matches is planning to install solar panels on its rooftops to become energy self-sufficient.

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) which owns the stadium has proposed to install solar panels at around 30,000 sq ft area generating 1,20,000 units of electricity per month.

BCCL

The project cost is estimated at Rs 4 crore and GCDA expects to generate 1MW electricity per day.

"Once the sanction from the government is granted, the work will be commenced soon and within a span of five months the solar power plant will be installed. It is also the first solar project of GCDA,¡± GCDA chairman V Salim said.

This will make JLN Stadium only the third stadium in India to run on solar energy.

The first solar-powered stadium in India was the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru had commissioned a 400-KW solar plant to power the entire M Chinnaswamy stadium, except for the high-intensity floodlights in 2015.

The Brabourne Stadium at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai too had adopted renewable energy last year. The 820.8kWp installation which can generate over 1.12 million electricity per year was inaugurated in 2018.

BCCL/ FILE

It is not just airports and stadiums in India that are going green with solar energy but across the country, there is a growing awareness and more and more big and small solar power grids are coming up on a daily basis.

In the quarter ending September 2019, India¡¯s total renewable energy capacity (including large hydro) stood at 130.68 GW.

This translates into approximately 35.7% of the total installed power capacity in the country, which is around 366 GW. The share of solar in the total power capacity mix grew from 8.73% at the end of June 2019 to 9.2% at the end of September 2019.

Between July 2019 and September 2019, India had added more than 2.2 GW of solar energy capacity.