The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), as per its green city plans, has proposed to install solar panels in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Green city is part of the larger Kochi economic city project.
Once the proposal goes ahead, the stadium will be the first in Kerala and the third in the country to be solar-powered, after Brabourne Cricket Stadium in Mumbai and M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The cost of installing the solar panels on the roof of the stadium is estimated to be Rs 4 crores. Reports said that the project is to be implemented with the help of the CIAL Infrastructure Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL). CIAL is the world's first airport to be powered by solar energy.
The proposal outlines that one megawatt of power will be generated by installing solar panels on 30,000 sq ft area on the stadium's rooftop.
“Space is not a constraint for GCDA to erect the solar panels. If we install the panels on the roof of the stadium, it can generate nearly 4 Mwp. But at present, we are planning to generate one Mwp with a project cost of around Rs 4 crore. The CIAL has offered all the technical help to materialise the project,” said GCDA chairman V. Salim during a press conference in Kochi. He added that the GCDA is expects a production of 1.2 lakh units of power a month. The generated power will be transferred to the KSEB grid.
“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,” Salim said.