Hyderabad: Many SCR zone stations become energy-neutral

Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) has taken the lead nationally, by being the first on Indian Railways to come up with the concept of 'Energy Neutral' Railway Stations which are capable of meeting full 100% energy requirements by tapping natural solar power through Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) Panels commissioned on the station buildings.

Taking the innovative step forward in right earnest, the zone has converted 13 railway stations as 'Energy Neutral' across state until present, highest amongst all the Railway Zones in the Country.

The concept of "Energy Neutral" stations is based on the principle of developing railway station buildings with total solar power tapping capabilities commensurate to exact load requirements of those particular stations. This is done by installation of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) Panels on the roof tops which are integrated with the on-grid (or) off-grid solar energy plants to derive power supply to the entire station. The total capacity of Solar panels installed at the 13 "Energy Neutral" stations is 99 kWp with the cost incurred, being around Rs 50 lakhs.

With anticipated energy generation from these stations coming to around 1.3 lakh units annually, it is expected that solar power will also lead to savings of Rs 13 lakh each year. In addition, the generation of clean solar energy enables reducing carbon foot prints to the tune of 1170 tons per annum. All the power needs of the "Energy Neutral" stations like Lighting, Fans, Pumps and other electrical appliances are met through the solar energy generated, thereby bringing down the net traditional energy consumption at these stations to zero.