Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) continues its efforts towards establishing sustainability initiatives at Delhi Airport. DIAL is currently working towards becoming a “Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport by 2030”. The company is focusing on various initiatives such as renewable energy development and usage, energy efficiency, green building, program with airlines, operational efficiency measures, green transportation, tree plantation and GHG management as per Airport Carbon Accreditation etc.
Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, managed and operated by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) – a consortium led by GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd, has introduce first-of-its-kind elevated dual taxiways connecting the Northern and Southern airfields on the eastern side of the airport.
Eastern Cross Taxiway
- The dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 55,000 tonnes annually
- ECT connects Northern and Southern airfields and reduces taxi distance for aircraft by 7kms.
- The ECT helps in enhancing the passenger experience by reducing time spent on the tarmac with flyers after landings and before take-offs.
- The taxiway can handle big aircraft including A-380 and B-777.
- The ECT, along with the fourth runway and the new integrated Terminal 1 will make Delhi Airport future ready.
The ECT helps in enhancing passengers’ experience, as they will have to remain inside a plane for a shorter duration after landing or during take-off. The distance that an aircraft needs to cover, after landing on the third runway and going to T1, has been reduced to 2 KM from the present 9 KM.
Taxibot
DIAL always strive to adopt newer technologies/best practices for enhancing operational excellence. The successful implementation of TaxiBot in Delhi Airport is an excellent case of technology adoption, Stakeholder Engagement and innovation for pollution prevention.
Key Benefits are-
- Reduction in Fuel Consumption
- Reduced Environmental Footprint
As of March 2022, Delhi Airport had completed more than 2000 TaxiBot missions and achieved ATF savings of 371 Tons, CO2 emission reduction of 1,173 Tons. In additional to this, the 2000 TaxiBot missions have also helped in 140 hours of ground time saved,
Based on DIAL’s green initiatives and commitment towards climate action, IGI is the first Airport in Asia Pacific region to achieve Level 4+ under ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation program. This indicates that apart from being a carbon neutral airport and IGI has adopted long term absolute emission reduction goals in line with IPCC’s 1.5-degree scenario.
CEO – Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL),
a subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.
Adoption of green energy is an important initiative adopted by Delhi Airport for achieving net zero target. The green energy program of DIAL includes sourcing of renewable energy from onsite as well as offsite sources. Under this initiative, DIAL has signed a long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a hydro power producer. The plant has started supplying green electrify to DIAL from 1st June 2022 and will continue to supply till 2036 as per the validity of the PPA.
On an average the overall electricity requirement of IGI Airport is 252 million units. Approximately 5-6% of this requirement is met from the onsite solar power plants of IGI Airport. DIAL has installed 7.84 MW solar power plant in the airside area, whereas as part of stakeholder collaboration, Cargo terminal operators of Delhi Airport has added another 5.3 MW rooftop solar power plant within the Airport.
The PPA signed will enable DIAL to meet the remaining 94-95% electricity requirement. This initiative of DIAL will lead to reduction of approximately 200000 tCO2 every year. Induction of green energy is one of the major milestones of DIAL towards achieving net zero by 2030 in addition to a gamut of other green initiatives implemented by the Airport. This initiative has further consolidated DIAL’s role as one of the greenest airports globally.
