Central Railway has begun work to switch over to environment friendly renewable energy such as solar and wind energy through Open Access and Nett Metering.
This is in order to bring down the cost of energy pursuant to Ministry of Railways’ policy to go completely green by 2030. The zone is going for Solar Energy of both Rooftop Configuration as well as Land-Based and Wind Power.
Rooftop Solar Power Plants
Central Railway has planned for Rooftop Solar Power Plants aggregating 14.379 MWp (Mega-Watt peak) capacity spread over its 5 Divisions and 4 Workshops.
4.92 MWp has been installed and commissioned on the cover over platforms at various Railway Stations including Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai, Pune etc and various EMU Car Sheds, Workshops and Administrative/Service Buildings.
These installations are generating 6.4 Million Units of energy per year resulting in a saving of Rs 4.1 crore per annum. The rest of the solar power plants are in various stages of the installation which upon commissioning will yield 12.43 MU which will translate into a saving of Rs 7.37 crore a year.
Land Based Solar Power Plants
CR has also identified vacant trackside stretches and unutilized land parcels for setting up the Land Based Solar Power plants. These could yield an estimated capacity of 109 MWp for traction, or train operation, purposes.
These solar power plants will generate 143 Million units of energy per year. This will yield a saving of Rs 43 Crore in energy bill per annum.
Similarly, for Non-Traction purposes, vacant land parcels have been identified in various premises on which Solar Power Plants of aggregate 71 MWp capacity have been planned which will generate 93 Million units of energy per year and yield a saving of Rs 64 Crore per annum. Thus, the total savings in energy bills per annum will be to the tune of 107 Crore.
Wind Power
The other renewable energy source, Wind Power, has also been explored under the aegis of M/s Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL) by way of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Wind Power Developers.
Wind Mills aggregating 50.4 MW have been installed at Sangli for Traction purposes while Wind Mills aggregating 6 MW have been installed for Non-Traction purposes.
The energy so generated is delivered at the Drawal Points of Central Railway under the Open Access regulations. In this, power is injected at any given point in the Power Grid and drawn at any other point of drawal, by paying the Wheeling Charges to the Power Transmission Utilities.
So far, 67.76 Million Units energy has been received which has yielded a saving of Rs 39 Crore. For Non-Traction, the PPA signed with Wind Power Developers for a capacity of 6 MWp will save about Rs. 4.2 Crore yearly when commissioned in 2020-21.
Achievement of ESCerts (Energy Saving Certificates) by Central Railway
Central Railway has achieved 20,179 ESCerts by energy efficiency in train operation during PAT-II Cycle (Perform, Achieve & Trade) completed in 2019 under Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s (BEE) National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE). Central Railway achieved the second highest number of ESCerts amongst the Zonal Railways.
The PAT Scheme is a programme launched by BEE to reduce energy consumption & promote enhanced energy efficiency among specific energy incentive industries in the country.
Under this scheme, reductions in SEC (Specific energy consumption), saving targets are assigned to Designated Consumers (DCs) for a 3-year cycle. The ESCerts could be traded at two energy exchanges that is Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL) or bought by other units under PAT who can use them to meet their compliance requirements.
