Plant will generate 675 kW of electricity, and cut electricity cost by around Rs 5 lakh per month

The Vadodara airport will soon switch over to solar energy for its everyday operations to cut down its electricity cost, a senior airport official said.

"The airport is all set to start using clean and green energy for its day to day operations, as its ground-mounted grid-connected solar plant is ready for commissioning," Vadodara airport director Charan Singh told PTI.

The solar plant will meet 50 per cent requirement of the airport, he said.

The power will be sourced from a plant located in the airport complex, having a capacity to generate 675 kilowatt (kw) of power, which will help the airport save around Rs 60 lakh every year on its electricity cost, he added.

"The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has installed this solar plant for which the contract worth Rs 3.5 crore was awarded to a private company. It will generate 675 kW of electricity, and also cut the annual electricity cost by around Rs 5 lakh per month," said Mr Singh.

He said while the Mumbai and Delhi airports are congested and the flights have to hover around these airport to get permissions for landing, "The capacity of the city airport remains underutilised."

Mr Singh also said private airline Jet Airways is set to launch flights to Jaipur, Indore, Bengaluru and New Delhi from here soon.