JOIN US Delhi Metro will draft tenders in the coming months for setting up solar power plants in an effort to cut down power costs. Increase in power tariffs has been instrumental in making the city’s new age transport system go green, say DMRC officials.
Metro requires about 140 MW power on daily basis to run trains across its network. Since Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is expanding through phase 3, it plans to shift its power dependency on renewable sources of energy like solar power to a huge extent.
With technical support from German International Cooperation (GIZ), which provided consultancy services to the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF), DMRC plans to install solar panels at the Yamuna Bank Metro station, Yamuna Bank Metro depot and Dwarka sector 21 station in next six months, said a DMRC official.
It has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GIZ in November. An in-house team has been formed to execute the solar project. “In another six months, we will start generating solar power, which would be used for running train services. But the quantum of power to be generated has not been finalised yet,” added the official.
He added that they are working on a mechanism to regenerate at least 60 per cent of power from the new trains that will be added under phase 3.
It plans to use solar energy at elevated Metro stations, in depots and open areas at the stations where it will be easier to install plants. Depending on the success of this initiative, DMRC aims at adding generation capacity for its phase 3 structures.
“This will also help in avoiding disruption during grid failures in the future,” said the official.