SOLAR POWERED RAILWAYS
By Anton Antonio
November 2, 2015
The railroad, as a mass transport system, started in 1810 in
the United States. The efficiency and
relatively lower cost compared to other modes of land-based transport made it
acceptable to other parts of the world.
India adopted the railways as their main system of transportation. India, however, is having second thoughts
about the sustainability of their railroad transport system which is largely
dependent on fossil fuel. Please read…
“INDIA INVESTIGATES MOVING FROM FOSSIL FUEL-POWERED RAILWAYS
TO CLEAN RAILWAYS TO CLEAN SOLAR ENERGY…
India has recently stepped it up in terms of the
government’s support of renewable energy through its effort in moving from coal
powered railways to clean solar panels for electricity and fuel
consumption. The Indian Railways is one
of the largest railway systems in the world, consisting of over 115,000 km of
tracks, over 65,436 km of routes, and 1,172 stations. Annually, it has the capacity to transport
over 8 billion people, which is roughly around 23 million passengers per
day. As such, the Indian Railways or
known as IR, requires massive energy expenditures – specially 17.5 kWh of
electricity per year, and over 90,000 liters of diesel. Fuel bills are actually the 2nd
largest expense of the IR, coming only next to employee salaries. With rising process of fuel imports, the
Indian government has begun focusing on other forms of energy to power the
coaches, specifically solar energy.
Recently, the first solar powered coach was tested, which is a
non-airconditioned coach with collar panels installed on its rooftop. The Rewari-Sitapur passenger train was able
to generate 17 kWh for an entire day, which was enough to cover only the
lighting load of the coach. Two other
coaches have been fitted with solar panels, but are yet to begin their testing
stage. These said coaches belong to 2
narrow-gauge trains for the Pathankot-Jogindemagar route in the Kangra Valley
and the Kalka-Shimla section. This
massive project and potential move to clean energy is touted to solve two major
problems faces by the IR today: rising energy prices and the threats to
environment caused by the massive use of fossil fuels. Ideally, the trains will still be powered by
traditional diesel-run engines, but the lighting of the passenger coaches will
utilize solar energy. According to a
Northern Railway official, there is a total of 40 square meter of space on a
typical coach rooftop. The said coach
was fitted with 12 solar panels over 24 square meters, but the remaining 16
square meters can still accommodate 16 more panels for more energy
production. Officials say that India has
a huge potential for solar power, and the installation of solar panels are not
limited to the train’s rooftops, but can also include those of the railway’s
buildings to provide renewable energy for its infrastructure. The typical cost for fitting panels on one
coach is Rs 3.90 lakh, and its return on investment per year is Rs 1.24
lakh. The potential savings of millions
of dollars can also include that of foreign exchange reserves in terms of
diesel imports. Aside from solar power’s
obvious economic benefits for the IR, the use of clean collar power also
reduces their emission of carbon dioxide by over 200 tonnes in a year. Currently, the Indian government is planning
to create a solar policy that would lead the way to the production of 1000
megawatts of solar power in the next 5 years.
The main aim of the said policy states that by the year 2020, the IR’s
renewable energy production will be able to provide at least 10% of the entire
enterprise’s energy consumption need.
Today, the project is aimed at a few rooftops lighting up a few non-airconditioned
coaches. Future testing is still needed
to understand the economics of the proposal before it is implemented on a
larger scale. So far, results have been
promising and further positive data might just lead the Indian Railways to
utilize the use of clean solar energy for all of its coaches.” ---
Tek-think.com
The Philippines has embarked on a railroad rehabilitation
program to fix both north and south lines (to and from Metro Manila). At this point of the program, it may be wise
to consider clean solar energy to power before the program is finally
completed. This will not only revive
this efficient mass transportation system but push it forward to the needs of
the future. Like India, why can’t the
Philippines have solar powered railways.
Thoughts to
promote positive action…
(Please
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REFERENCE:
Tek-think.com, (2015). “India Investigates Moving from
Fossil Fuel-Powered Railways to Clean Railways to Clean Solar Energy”. Retrieved on November 2, 2015 from http://tek-think.com/2015/06/14/india-investigates-moving-from-fossil-fuel-powered-railways-to-clean-solar-power/
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