JOIN USVery soon, New Delhi railway station would be lit by solar energy. As a pilot project to tap alternate sources of energy, Northern Railway has decided to install solar panels at the main railway station in the city.
According to railway officials, the power project, that would be implemented on a public private partnership model, is a part of the railways initiative to convert station premise into a ‘green building’.
To start off, solar panels with a capacity to generate 10 KV of electricity per day would be installed at the station premises. Northern Railway has appointed a consultant that would conduct a feasibility study of the project.
“Koto Power Systems has been appointed as the consultant to conduct a feasibility study of the power project. The mandate of the consultant is to identify the exact locations on the station premises where the solar panels could be installed, apart from the cost of installation. It would also advise about the modalities of the agreement that the railways would get into with the private firm for implementation of the project,” said a Northern Railway official. Officials said work on the project would start after the consultant submits its report by September-end.
New Delhi railway station is spread over an area of the 6,38,467 square metre, including the yard area. Around 4,21,388 square metre of the total is built-up area. The officials said solar panels are likely to be installed on the roof of the built-up area, including the rooftop of platforms.
As the average cost of installing 1 KV solar power unit comes to around Rs 15 lakh, the project at New Delhi station is likely to cost Rs 1.5 crore, officials said. Apart from taking initiatives to tap alternative source of energy, they are also taking several other measures to conserve energy at the station building.
“Automated lighting system has been installed at platform number 4 and 5 on experimental basis. They operate as per the requirement of light at the station during daytime as well as at night,” said an official.