DMRC high on solar power.

The Delhi government recently issued a draft solar policy aiming at power generation to the tune of 1 gigawatt by 2020, but the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has already got a head start. The corporation recently commissioned its first solar plant at the HUDA City Centre metro station, which is the first in any parking lot across Delhi and the national capital region. The 100 kWp solar power plant, with panels installed at the parking lot, will power two escalators at the metro station, besides meeting the overall electricity demand of the building. “The idea behind this was to utilise vacant spaces of the network more efficiently,” said a metro official. The power plant was inaugurated by the push of a button at the Metro Bhawan during a workshop on “Climate Resilient Initiatives in Urban Transport”. A survey released during the workshop revealed that the Metro Rail systems are the most energy efficient transport available in the world today.

Compared to a bus, which consumes three units of energy, a metro train was found to consume just one unit of energy. Diesel cars had the highest energy consumption at 22 units, while petrol cars followed with 21 units and AC buses and two-wheelers recorded six and five units of energy consumption.

Union Urban Development Additional Secretary D S Mishra announced that the workshop was a preparation for the DMRC, which will be part of India’s representation at the upcoming Conference of Parties 21 summit in Paris. For this, Mr. Mishra also requested the corporation to produce a booklet on its energy conservation practices.

Delhi Chief Secretary K. K. Sharma, who also attended the workshop, emphasised on the need to utilise rooftop spaces across the country. He said that in the coming decade, Delhi should focus on cleaning its air. Pointing to the chaotic traffic and bad air quality in the city, Mr. Sharma asked, “If metro would not have been here, could you imagine what would have been the situation?'

In total, the DMRC has commissioned solar power facilities with a generation capacity of 2.8 MWp. It aims to achieve a capacity of up to 20 MWp by 2016 and up to 50 MWp by 2021.

THE HINDU