Delhi’s metro rail network, built by the Delhi Metro Rail Service (DMRC), has been named as the only completely ‘green’ metro system in the world for adhering to green building norms.
This mean feat was achieved after the DMRC obtained the platinum rating for adherence to green building norm for its 10 residential colonies from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
The metro rail network’s continued efforts in the field of clean energy have also reaped the desired results. This can be gauged from DMRC’s renewable energyblue print for the upcoming years.
DMRC’s electricity consumption is expected to touch 300 Mw in the next five years. In an attempt to promote and encourage clean energy, the corporation plans to derive nearly a sixth of this power from solar energy.
Delhi Metro currently consumes 140 Mw of electricity, 17 Mw of which comes from solar. This figure is expected to increase to 20 Mw in the next three months. It has already tied up with the Rewa Solar Project, which would come up in the next 18 months, to buy electricity at Rs 3.15 per unit.
DMRC consumes 65 per cent of energy for traction, with 35 per cent consumed by other auxiliary services for various passenger facilities such as air conditioning, lighting, fire and hydraulics, and lift escalators, among other things. Expenditure towards energy constitutes 38 per cent of DMRC’s total operational expenses.
To curtail its expenses, the corporation has switched to solar power and set up solar panels to generate energy. Currently, it is running trains in energy-saving mode, de-energising idle trains, and optimising the air-conditioning levels.
By Baishakhi Dutta
