Technical and economic feasibility of a fully solar-powered Airport in Nepal

Potential of limiting greenhouse gases (GHG) production through the aviation industry is high with the industry being one of the major GHG emitters. The use of clean energy sources is the only way to limit the carbon footprint from the airport. So, solar PV installation systems for the green energy airport is an interesting new application for the stakeholder working in the field of solar technology. In this regard, this research focuses on developing a domestic airport in Nepal as a fully solar-powered airport by identifying ideal site for the installation of a solar PV system. In this paper, feasible glare site of Chandragadi Airport was chosen and suggested for Solar PV installation without compromising the compatibility of the airport concurrence, environment, and the electrical infrastructures. PVsyst V6.8.7 configuration analysis tool was chosen for the analysis. The result of the studyshows that a 213 MWh/year energy is adequate to fully operate an airport on solar energy in respect to the current demand load. It has been identified that 134KWh solar plant is sufficient to run the airport fully on solar energy. These findings assure and increase the level of airport authorities and stakeholder's confidence to approach towards establishing first green airport of Nepal.