Four railway stations in the State -- Ontimitta, Kadiyam, Dwarapudi, and Godavari -- have been converted into ‘energy neutral’ by the South Central Railway (SCR). The energy neutral stations are capable of meeting their full energy requirement by tapping solar power through Solar Photovoltaic (SP) panels, according to an official release.
The SCR has taken the lead in the country in harnessing the potential of solar power by converting total 13 railway stations. The stations are four in A.P., and Ghatkesar, Dharur, Raghunadhapalli, Mellacheruvu, Dharmabad, Sivungaon, Umri, Karkheli, and Bolsa in Telangana into ‘energy neutral’.
Ontimitta is in Kadapa-Renigunta section of Guntakal division and the other three stations are in Rajahmundry-Duvvada and Nidadavolu-Rajahmundry sections in Vijayawada division.
The concept of energy neutral stations, which has been aggressively pushed by SCR General Manager Gajanan Mallya, is based on the principle of developing railway station buildings with total solar power tapping capabilities commensurate to their exact load requirements.
The SP panels on the rooftops are integrated with the on-grid or off-grid solar energy plants to derive power supply to the entire station.
The total capacity of solar plants installed at the 13 energy neutral stations is 99 kWp costing around ₹50 lakh. An anticipated energy generation of 1.30 lakh units annually is expected to yield a saving of ₹13 lakh.
Besides, the generation of clean solar energy facilitates a reduction in the carbon footprint to the tune of 1,170 tons per annum.
All the power needs of the energy neutral stations like lighting, fans, pumps, and other electrical appliances are met by the solar energy generated by them, which brings down the net traditional energy consumption at these stations to zero.
Significant strides
The SCR zone has made significant strides in the adoption of green energy by commissioning solar power plants of 8.20 MWp capacity, solar hybrid plants with 1.75 KWp capacity, a 2.18 lakh litres per day solar water heating facility, a 570 kWp water pumping system and 52 KW-equivalent day pipe lighting system at its offices.