Wind, solar now meets half of HAL's power consumption

With the launch of an 8.4 MW wind power plant in Ilkal in Bagalkot on Wednesday, 50% of energy consumption of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)'s Bengaluru divisions will now be met by renewable energy.

The Ilkal plant is HAL's second wind energy project, set up at a cost of about Rs 59 crore. HAL already owns a 6.3MW wind energy power plant near Davangere. A 3.5MW solar power plant is also operational at the HAL Airport.

Together, the renewable energy plants will now meet around 50% of the electricity consumption of Bengaluru-based Divisions.

HAL Chairman and Managing Director, R Madhavan says through this 'green initiative,' HAL would reduce its carbon footprint by around 25,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum. “This project would cater to about 25% energy consumption at Bengaluru based divisions,” he informs.

The power generated by the Ilkal wind energy plant will be used for captive energy consumption in Bengaluru. Equipped with four wind turbines installed in collaboration with Suzlon Energy Limited, the plant has the potential to generate around 260 lakh units per annum. This is expected to help HAL achieve an estimated annual savings of around Rs 18 crore.