New Delhi Railway station To Generate solar power
The Railways is planning to generate 1 MW solar power
at the New Delhi railway station by installing solar panels on the
platform roofs. Officials said the power project that will be
implemented on a public private partnership model is a part of the
Railways’ initiative to convert some of its stations into ‘green
buildings’.
“A consultant has been roped in to
conduct the feasibility study. While we plan to install solar panels on
roof tops of the platform and the station building, the consultant has
been asked to identify the exact locations on the station premises where
solar panels can be installed, apart from the cost of installation,”
said Anurag Sachan, Divisional Railway Manager (Delhi).
“As
per the initial plans, the private partner will install the solar
panels and generate power and the Railways will buy power at a
pre-determined rate,” he added.
According to railway
officials, the New Delhi railway station is spread over an area of the
6,38,467 sq m, including the yard area. Around 4,21,388 sq m of the
total is built-up area. The station has 16 platforms. Officials said
with no major high rises located in the vicinity of the station premise,
generating 1 MW solar power is achievable.
“Once
operational, around 25 per cent of the energy requirements at the New
Delhi station, which has an average daily demand of over 4 MW, can be
met just by solar power,” a senior Northern Railway official said.
Apart
from the New Delhi station, the public transporter is also working at
converting more stations in the Delhi Division like Bahadurgarh, Deewana
and Gurgaon into green buildings. Solar power plants will also be
installed at other major stations in the city like Old Delhi,
Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar and Bijwasan.
“Once the
pilot project at the New Delhi station becomes successful, we will have a
model that could be replicated at other stations in Delhi,” a senior
Northern Railway official said.
With the Narendra
Modi government emphasising on harnessing solar power and taking lessons
from solar projects in Gujarat, sources said the initiatives in the
field are likely to get priority and easy clearances from the Ministry.
Sources
said after senior railway officials made a presentation before the
Prime Minister, he instructed the department to “use solar energy more
aggressively and install them on the roofs of station buildings and
other areas, apart from considering installation of solar panels atop
the train coaches”.
“Installation of solar panels on
train coaches is possible. It can meet the general requirements like
lighting bulbs and running fans in the trains. An experiment is also
being done with a toy train running on the Shimla-Kalka route,” an
official said.