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Delhi Metro On Track To Meet All Its Energy Needs From Renewable Sources By 2021

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), an electric-based rail network, apart from curbing vehicular pollution in Delhi by keeping more than 4 lakh vehicles off the road every day, also started cutting its own carbon footprints by increasing its dependence on renewable sources like solar power and power from Waste to Energy plants since 2014. Recently, DMRC announced that it will become 100 per cent environment-friendly rail network by 2021.

As per DMRC, there are about 20 lakh commuters who make use of the Delhi Metro on a daily basis. The network of the Delhi Metro is spread over an area 373 kilometers. According to an estimate, every passenger who chooses to use metro instead of a fossil-fuel burning road transport, contributes to saving approximately 100 grams of carbon dioxide for every trip of 10 kilometres

To reduce its own carbon footprint, DMRC installed a small 500 kilowatt peak (kWp) solar rooftop plant at Dwarka Sector 21 station in August 2014.

Now the in-house rooftop solar project has been expanded to solar panel installation at 53 stations and 12 depots producing 28 Megawatt peak (MWp) of power together. The rail network targets to power all its 271 stations using solar energy by 2021.

Apart from its in-house rooftop solar project, DMRC is also procuring solar energy from a solar plant in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh called Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL). The organisation is currently getting 27 Mega Watt of solar power from this plant at Rs. 2.97 per unit.

DMRC uses the electricity produced from various renewable sources for auxiliary purposes like powering lights, fans and air conditioners at metro stations and depots. It has recently started running a few trains using solar power from the Rewa plant.

Along with using solar power, DMRC has also started taking power from a Waste to Energy plant of East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited (EDWPCL) set up in Ghazipur. It is currently receiving 17.5 million units of electricity annually from this plant.

As per DMRC, it is the only metro rail in the world certified by the United Nations (UN) as the first metro rail network to get carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.