Railway station to save Rs 22L in power bills via solar energy

Pune: Some electrical fittings like bulbs and fans at Pune railway station will run on solar power. The Central Railway, Pune division has signed an MoU with Persistent Foundation for generation of solar power at the station.

The railway administration on Tuesday said it was an important step in making Pune a "green station". More than Rs 1 crore will be invested by Persistent Foundation which will donate, install and commission the rooftop solar PV system at the reservation centre on the station's premises. The project is expected to be completed in about five months.

The system, which consists of 600 PV panels, will have a capacity of 150KWP and generate about 2,20,000 units of electricity per year. It is expected to meet almost 80% of the electricity needs of fans and lights of Pune station.

This system has multi-crystalline PV cells with online monitoring system through remote access. It will consist of heavy-duty hot-dip galvanised structures with 25 years' panel life.

As a result of this initiative, Pune division will cut its electricity bill by Rs 22 lakh each year.

A memorandum of understanding was signed on Tuesday by Gaurav Jha, senior divisional commercial manager of Pune railway division, and Sonali Deshpande, chairperson, Persistent Foundation.

Divisional railway manager B K Dadabhoy and Anand Deshpande, founder, chairman and managing director of Persistent Systems were present.