Chennai, Vijayawada stations meets energy demands via solar power

Chennai Central railway station and Vijayawada railway station are meeting their electricity requirements through solar power.

As per the Railway Ministry, it is meeting its electricity requirements via the solar energy produced at Vijayawada railway station in Andhra Pradesh and Dr MG Ramachandran Central railway station in Chennai.

The railway is striving at reducing carbon emissions and contributing to the conservation of the environment by using a renewable source of energy.

The railways are meeting their energy demands via photovoltaic panels installed at station buildings. Around 13 such buildings have been equipped with solar panels for developing electricity so far. These panels have the capacity of 130 kilowatts peak (kWp) of energy, which means that the railway is generating 2.2 lakh units of electricity every year.

Using clean energy is not only making the railways carbon-free but also saving them lakhs of rupees yearly.

The Central Railway, Mumbai Division recently took several initiatives to switch to cleaner energy and safeguard the environment. The Titwala, Kasara, and Igatpuri stations, along with their adjoining railway premises, will operate on green energy.

The Central Railway told the media that rooftop grid-connected 5 kWp solar panels are set up at Sub Divisional Hospital at Igatpuri. The solar plant would produce 6000 kWh of energy yearly, thus saving around Rs 45,000 per year.

At the Kasara and Igatpuri station platforms, solar plants of 40 kWp capacity each have been established. These plants will produce 48,000 kW of power every year and will help save around Rs 7.2 lakh per year.

The Dr MG Ramachandran Central or Chennai Central railway, which comes under the South Central Railway (SCR) has fulfilled its 100% energy demand of the day via solar power.

The Indian Railways is making use of solar power to minimise dependency on fossil fuels and achieve the Indian government’s goal of Green Energy.

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Also read: Central Railway adds 4 more sites generating solar power