SunEdison installs 1.9 MW solar system for Delhi Metro

U.S. solar power developer completes construction of eight rooftop arrays at stations along the Indian city's Badarpur-Fariadabad line; two more PV systems on the way for further lines.

The Delhi Metro system is now partly solar-powered, with further arrays planned for more sections of the network.

EveryStockPhoto/dlisbona.

SunEdison – a U.S.-headquartered developer of solar modules and downstream projects – has completed a 1.9 MW PV project for India’s Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the first of its kind for the Indian capital.

SunEdison has installed solar panels at eight stations on the Badarpur-Faridabad line, making it the first metropolitan line in DMRC’s network to be completely solar-powered. SunEdison is also working on solar power stations for the Yamuna Bank station and Yamuna Bank yard. Collectively, these two arrays will have a capacity of 1.9 MW.

The completed arrays will power lighting and other auxiliary requirements at the station and depot buildings where they are sited. Construction took just two months, says SunEdison, and the arrays will deliver clean electricity for the next 25-30 years with little-to-no maintenance required.

In addition to the 2.8 MW of solar PV capacity already commissioned to SunEdison, the DMRC has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for a further 7 MW of rooftop capacity across its vast network of lines, depots and stations. In total, the corporation hopes to add 50 MW of solar capacity to its stations and other buildings.

"Millions of people rely on the Delhi Metro each day, and by installing SunEdison’s solar system in eight of the metro lines, we are excited that these commuters will be able to benefit from a clean and reliable source of electricity,"said SunEdison’s president of Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa Pashupathy Gopalan.

These efforts by the DMRC to adopt and embrace renewable energy have been recognized by India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has also praised DMRC’s approach, registering its green initiative as the world’s first transport sector project under its Program of Activities.

Original Post: 07. SEPTEMBER 2015 |  BY:  IAN CLOVER