Chennai: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited installed a 410KWp solar power plant on the rooftop of the Koyambedu metro rail depot on Wednesday.
In an attempt to access and utilise solar energy, the CMRL had installed solar panels in four metro stations, namely Thirumangalam, Anna Nagar Tower, Anna Nagar East and Shenoy Nagar metro stations earlier this month.
“CMRL is committed to achieving energy security, to reduce carbon emission and promote green energy concept by generating renewable energy, especially by installing rooftop solar power systems,” a press release from the CMRL said.
The solar panels at Koyambedu metro rail depot are expected to generate around 55,350 units per month and will around Rs.14,49,948 lakhs per year, the release said.
Including the four stations, the installed capacity of rooftop solar power systems by CMRL is 2.1 Mega Watts. Another 5.5 MW rooftop solar power system installation is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Chennai has the potential to harness solar energy enough to reduce the demand for electricity by at least 20 per cent says a report by Greenpeace India and Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI). The report, titled ‘Rooftop Revolution: Unleashing Chennai’s Rooftop Potential’ found that the total rooftop potential of the city was 1,380 Mega watts(MW). Landmarks in the city which have a sizeable solar power potential are all Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS)Railway station roofs(3,582 kW), Metro station roofs (1696 kW), Bus depot roofs (938 kW) and the Chennai International airport (889 kW), the report had said.
