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India has recently stepped it up in terms of the government’s support of renewable energy through its efforts in moving from coal powered railways to clean solar panels for electricity and fuel consumption.
The Indian Railways is one of the largest railway systems in the world, requires massive energy expenditures – specifically 17.5 kWh of electricity per year, and over 90,000 liters of diesel.
Fuel bills are actually the 2nd largest expense of the Indian Railways. With rising prices of fuel imports, the Indian government has began focusing on other forms of energy to power the coaches, specifically solar energy.
Recently, the first solar powered coach was tested, which is a non-airconditioned coach with solar panels installed on its rooftop. The Rewari-Sitapur passenger train was able to generate 17 kWh for an entire day, which was enough to cover only the lighting load of the coach.
Two other coaches have been fitted with solar panels, but are yet to begin their testing stage. These said coaches belong to 2 narrow-gauge trains for the Pathankot-Jogindernagar route in the Kangra Valley and the Kalka-Shimla section.
This massive project and potential move to clean energy is touted to solve two major problems faced by the IR today: rising energy prices and the threats to environment caused by the massive use of fossil fuels. Ideally, the trains will still be powered by traditional diesel-run engines, but the lighting of the passenger coaches will utilize solar energy.
According to a Northern Railway official, there is a total of 40 square meter of space on a typical coach rooftop. The said coach was fitted with 12 solar panels over 24 square meters, but the remaining 16 square meters can still accommodate 6 more panels for more energy production.
Officials say that India has a huge potential for solar power, and that the installation of solar panels are not limited to the train’s rooftops, but can also include those of the railway’s buildings to provide renewable energy for its infrastructure.
The typical cost for fitting panels on one coach is Rs 3.90 lakh, and its return on investment per year is Rs 1.24 lakh. The potential savings of millions of dollars can also include that of foreign exchange reserves in terms of diesel imports. Aside from solar power’s obvious economic benefits for the IR, the use of clean solar power also reduces their emission of carbon dioxide by over 200 tonnes in a year.
Currently, the Indian government is planning to create a solar policy that would lead the way to the production of 1000 megawatts of solar power in the next 5 years. The main aim of the said policy states that by the year 2020, the IR’s renewable energy production will be able to provide at least 10% of the entire enterprise’s energy consumption need.
Today, the project is aimed at a few rooftops lighting up a few non-airconditioned coaches. Future testing is still needed to understand the economics of the proposal before it is implemented on a larger scale. So far, results have been promising and further positive data might just lead the Indian Railways to utilize the use of clean solar energy for all of its coaches.
