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Solar-powered Hubballi Airport is Karnataka first ‘green airport’

Highlights:

• Hubballi Airport has become the first ‘green airport’ in the state following the commissioning of an 8MW solar power plant on its premises.
• The green energy generated here will be sufficient to light up six airports in the state, GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation (GAGAN) installation and Bagalur residential quarters in Bengaluru.
• It is central government vision of producing 50 per cent energy from renewable energy by 2030,
• Airport has become 100 per cent Green Airport because of 8MWp grid-connected solar power plant at Airport
• Initiation : Airport Authority of India (AAI) ,
• Parent Scheme: Under the Sustainable Green Airport Mission (SUGAM) programme to promote green and renewable energy
• Madhav Infra Projects Limited Bagged the tender for the ground-mounted grid-connected photovoltaic solar plant
• The electricity generated here will light up airports at Hubballi, Belagavi, Mysuru, Ballari radar station
• Kalaburagi Airport was also proposed to be added to the list of beneficiary airports and will become a 100 per cent green airport.
• The solar plant generates 140 lakh units of electricity annually and the power is directly supplied to the Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) grid located in Tarihal, from there it will be supplied to other airports and the GAGAN office with help of other ESCOMS

What is GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation?

• It is an implementation of a regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) by the Government of India
• It is a system to improve the accuracy of a GNSS receiver by providing reference signals.
• Parent Organization : Airports Authority of India with the help of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) technology and space support
• It is viewed as the first step towards introduction of modern communication, navigation and surveillance / air traffic management system over the Indian airspace.
• Master control centre : Bengaluru.
• Satellite: GSAT-15 carries 24 Ku band transponders with India coverage beam and a GAGAN payload Karnataka Forest Department has used GAGAN to build a new, accurate and publicly available satellite based database of its forestlands.