Standing out in a field of green are more than 46,000 solar panels tapping the power of the bright sunlight and converting it into energy.

Located in the southern state of Kerala, Cochin is now the first airport in the world to run completely on solar power.

The airport started with a small pilot project by installing a solar energy plant with 400 panels on its rooftop in 2013. When that experiment succeeded, it decided to go all the way.

In August this year, the airport became totally self sufficient in meeting its energy needs after it installed a 12 megawatt solar plant close to the cargo terminal.

The airport's managing director VJ Kurian says it was the huge power bills that prompted them to look at greener solutions.

The airport, which is the seventh busiest in India handling more than 1,000 flights a week, consumes nearly 48,000 units costing 336,000 rupees ($5,160 ١,364) every day.

Today, with its solar power plant it produces more energy than it needs and banks the rest with the state power grid for rainy days and night-time requirements.Cochin may have shown the way forward but the rest of India is not far behind in tapping the vast potential of the sun. As most parts of the country receive sunshine for over 300 days a year, the possibilities are plenty.

Recognising this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has outlined his vision of increasing the country's solar power capacity to 100,000 megawatts by 2022.

This is a dream that can be realised by having photovoltaic panels on the rooftop of every home in India, generating enough power to reduce the country's massive fuel bill and dependence on fossil fuels.

Solar energy is also a much cleaner source of energy than conventional forms of energy like thermal and nuclear. Considering the global debate on climate change, developing economies like India with its ever increasing need for energy to fuel growth can turn to the sun to power ahead.