New panels to augment solar power at railway stations

PUNE: Several railway stations under the Pune division will soon be able to generate solar power.

“The ministry of railways plans to introduce solar panels at different railway stations. The central railway has been allotted 9.2MW of solar power. Of this, 1.115MW will be generated in the Pune division. We hope that power generation will start by early next year,” a railway official said.

Sources from the railway said solar panels will be installed on the overhead sheds of platform number 4, 5 and 6 of the Pune station. This will augment the existing capacity of the station.
“The existing panels were set up in October last year above the reservation building of the station. The electricity generated by these panels power the fans, lights, etc on the station premises,” the official said.

“Mytrah Energy India Private Limited has been selected for setting up the panels in the Pune division. This agency will install the infrastructure for solar power generation in various stations across the division. They will ensure steady power generation and the railways will buy it from them according to the agreement,” another senior official with the technical department said.

The official said Pimpri, Karad Chinchwad, Akurdi, Dehu Road, Malauli, Koregaon, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Miraz, Khedgaon and Loni are some of the stations where such infrastructure for solar power generation will be set up.
“It is difficult to say how much energy will be generated at each station. Details on the revenue generation and savings from the project will be worked out in a later phase,” the official added.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes