A Project to Harness India’s Sun

More than 300 days of sun and, in many regions, more than 2,500 hours of sunshine over the course of the year mean that India, as a tropical country, boasts ideal conditions for generating solar energy. And in future, the country plans to make better use of these conditions. The world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, India signed the historic Paris climate change agreement in October 2016, and set itself ambitious goals in terms of renewable energies: By 2022, it aims to generate five times as much energy by means of wind or solar power than before.

One flagship project, which already demonstrates the commitment to this energy transition policy, is the power supply for the international airport in Cochin in the Indian state of Kerala. This is where Bosch Energy and Building Solutions built the largest solar plant ever constructed for an airport in India in 2015. Covering an area spanning 50 hectares in size the 46,150 solar modules produce an average of 48,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every day. The modules, each weighing 23 kg and with a glass surface measuring around 1.5 meters by one meter, together add up to an impressive capacity of twelve megawatts

The solar array was erected in close proximity to the airport’s runway. One of the main challenges involved in planning and constructing this major project was to exclude any possibility that objects could ever end up on the airfield. Another challenge was to ensure pilots are not distracted when taking off and landing their aircraft, namely by preventing them from being dazzled by light reflected by the solar modules. During the construction phase, around 100 employees and contractors, including engineers and materials and safety experts, also repeatedly battled heavy rainfall. But even that failed to knock the timetable off course. “The experts from Bosch completed the project to the highest standards and within the allotted time. We are extremely pleased with the outcome,” says VJ Kurian, Managing Director of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).

Within two years’ time, the team in India has secured commissions for projects representing a total capacity of 70 megawatts. The airport in Cochin is also continuing to expand. A new terminal is due to go up in 2017. Bosch Energy and Building Solutions won the contract to plan and erect a second solar array on the CIAL site – on the basis of the successful model that the existing solar plant represents.