SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), has installed eight solar power systems for India’s Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The solar panel systems have been installed on the roofs of the stations and depot of the recently completed Badarpur-Faridabad line; the first metropolitan line in DMRC’s network to incorporate solar in such a way.
Collectively the systems represent 1.9 megawatts capacity and are expected to generate 2.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year; while avoiding 1,700 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Arrays have been installed at NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Sector-28, Badkal Mor, Old Faridabad, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Bata Chowk and Escorts Mujesar. A 452 kW installation is at Ajronda depot.
The solar electricity generated will be used for lighting and other auxiliary requirements of station and depot buildings.
“Millions of people rely on the Delhi Metro each day and by installing SunEdison’s solar system in eight of the metro lines, we are excited that these commuters will be able to benefit from a clean and reliable source of electricity,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, SunEdison’s president of Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa.
SunEdison says the systems only took two months to construct and will generate clean electricity for 25 to 30 years; with little in the way of maintenance costs.
The company is also building solar power stations at DMRC’s Yamuna Bank station and Yamuna Bank yard. Those systems will have a collective capacity of 1.9MW.
The DMRC’s solar efforts were recently recognised by India’s government on the first foundation day of the Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of State (AREAS); an initiative of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The rail company has so far commissioned 2.8MW of rooftop solar and has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (solar PPA) for another 7 MW of roof top capacity. The Corporation says it is planning to implement 50 MWp of solar PV on its Metro stations and other buildings.
The Delhi Metro network consists of approximately 208 km of lines with more than 150 stations.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) registered DMRC’s green initiative as the world’s first transport sector project under its Program of Activities (PoA).
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