Indian Railways is one of the largest consumers of diesel fuel in India, consuming 2.6 billion litres in 2013-14. Now, Indian Railways is going Solar in more than one way. Earlier, during the budget speech, finance minister Arun Jaitley announced plans to power 7,000 railway stations with Solar power. Recently, the Indian railways launched its first Solar Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train with solar panels installed on coach rooftops. Trains use diesel not only for pulling the coaches but also to power lights, fans and air conditioners in the coaches. The DEMU coaches reduce the diesel consumed in generating electricity thus bringing in savings.
Here are some facts about the DEMU trains
- Firstly, the cost of energy consumed by the Railways is 24.16% of its ordinary working expense (14.72% diesel expenditure and 9.44% on electricity)
- Diesel expenditure increased from INR 7,297 crore in 2007-08 to INR 22,716 crore in 2014-15
- Indian Railways projects a saving of 21,000 litres of diesel per DEMU train with six trailer coaches. This is equivalent to INR 12 lakhs per year. A proportional rise will be seen as coaches increase to 10 coach rake with eight trailer coaches.
- Apart from the monetary impact, diesel consumed also takes an environmental toll. DEMU system helps reduce carbon footprint by cutting carbon dioxide emission by 9 tonnes per coach per annum
- The train has been flagged off between Sarai Rohilla station, Delhi, to Haryana’s Garhi Harsaru Junction
India has shown a strong commitment to meeting its Solar Power goals (“Nothing on Earth is going to stop us from doing that”, says India on Renewable Energy Goals) and is well on its way to achieve the 100 GW solar power target for 2022. Are you looking to go solar? Simply fill out the form below or click here or call +91-920-569-5690 and we’ll do the rest.
Do also give our blog, ZunTalks, a read for all your solar related questions and check out other interesting updates on solar on our facebook page (facebook.com/zunroof).
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Image courtesy: https://transformingindia.mygov.in/author/debasish_dasgupta/