Guwahati Railway Station shows the way

Cutting carbon footprint

GUWAHATI, May 15: In so far as reduction of carbon footprint is concerned, Guwahati Railway Station shows the way to other railway stations in the Northeast by becoming fully-powered by solar energy.

An individual or individual organization’s carbon footprint is a measurement of the amount of carbon dioxide that their activities produce. Main areas that determine carbon footprint are electricity usage, oil or natural gas usage, car mileage, airplane trips etc.

With a view to going green and becoming energy efficient, solar energy is used by Guwahati Railway Station in its power stations and even in its trains across the network. The device was commissioned in the railway station in April 2017 and is expected to reduce the carbon footprint to a considerable level.

Besides cutting carbon footprint, the device would also lead to electricity cost savings. In order to operate the network through solar energy, a 700-KWp capacity solar power plant grid has been set up at the roof of the station building. According to Indian Railways, the estimated project cost is around Rs 6.77 crore. While the funds have been contributed by CONCOR, the solar plant installation has been done by Sahibabad’s Central Electronics Ltd.

Statistics suggest that the total generation of the solar power plant was 7,96,669 KWH from April 2017 to May 2018. On an average, the plant generates 2048 KWH on a daily basis. This solar plant saves Rs 67 lakh on electricity cost. In all, there are 2,352 solar modules fitted to the rooftop of the solar power plant.