Delhi Airport now runs entirely on hydro and solar power
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has become the first in the country to rely on hydro and solar power completely. The airport has been pushing ahead with green reforms for a while now, gradually distancing itself from traditional methods of operations and setting up targets for a zero-emissions future.
The airport’s operator, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), says that moving to renewable sources for its energy needs is expected to reduce 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year indirectly.
For now, IGI is sourcing around 6% of its electricity requirement from onsite solar power plants and the remaining 94% from hydropower plants. While there are other airports in India that use renewable sources of energy, Delhi has been the first to rely on them completely since June 1st.
For hydropower, DIAL has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Himachal Pradesh-based hydropower producing company to supply hydroelectricity for the airport until 2036.
DIAL has also installed a 7.84 MW solar power plant on the airside, and, as part of stakeholder collaboration, operators of the cargo terminals at the airport have added another 5.3 MW rooftop solar power plant. DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar commented,
“DIAL has been working relentlessly towards environmental sustainability and has set its target to make Delhi Airport a Net Zero Carbon Emission airport by 2030, way ahead of the global target of 2050. To achieve this, DIAL has adopted a Green Transportation program recently and now we achieved another milestone of the Green Energy Program for IGIA.”
The capital city’s airport was recently ranked 37th in Skytrax aviation firm’s World Airport Awards 2022, moving up from 45th position last year. It was also adjudged the best and the cleanest airport in India by the report.
The airport has given itself a deadline to become a zero-emissions airport by the end of this decade. For this, it has been gradually undertaking several initiatives, such as becoming the first in the country to be free of single-use plastics in 2020 to becoming the first in the world to clock 1,000 TaxiBot movements.
It also plans to replace all of its regular fuel-consuming airside vehicles with electrical vehicles (EV) in the next four months. This would include vehicles that are used on runways, taxiways, and aprons to support operations for flight movements.
