Cochin International Airport in the southern Indian state of Kerala became the world’s first entirely solar-powered airport on Tuesday, unveiling a new system that will make the airport “absolutely power neutral,” according to a statement released by the parent company.
The airport’s solar power plant, which is comprised of more than 46,000 solar panels arrayed across 45 acres of land, will produce 48,000 units of energy per day.
Cochin International had already begun the transition to renewable energy when it installed a smaller solar power array on its arrivals terminal roof in March 2013, but the move to total solar power is still considered a significant step, as the airport has still relied partly on non-renewable power in the intervening years.
The new system is designed to work with the smaller array from 2013 to fully meet the facility’s day-to-day energy needs.
Still, the system’s true impact will become clear only over time. Over the next 25 years, Cochin International’s solar power station is expected to save 300,000 tons worth of carbon emissions. That’s the equivalent of planting three million trees or not driving 750 million miles.