PMRC to Install Solar Panels to Power Auxiliary Services at Metro Stations

Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC) has come up with a plan to make all the metro stations in the capital city of Bihar as green buildings. PMRC is mulling to install solar power systems on the elevated metro stations and the metro depots as they are being designed in an energy-efficient way.

PMRC aims to create the metro infrastructure in Patna as a symbol of environmentally sustainable development as the solar installation will not just offer green energy supply to the metro stations of PMRC but also help reduce carbon footprint.

The solar energy thus produced from rooftop installations will be employed for auxiliary services at the stations. Systems such as elevators, escalators, lighting, signalling, telecommunication, firefighting and fare collection machines will run on green energy. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has installed this model and now PMRC is also planning to use solar energy on similar lines.

According to reports, PMRC wants to use green technology and create space for solar power generation. DMRC is the nodal agency for Patna metro project. PMRC wants to implement grid-connected rooftop solar energy systems at some of the selected elevated metro stations. Rooftop solar will also come up at the maintenance depot of PMRC.

Some of the key states Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh lag behind in terms of renewable energy, a new study conducted in unison by IEEFA (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis) and Ember has suggested. The total renewable generation capacity of Bihar state as on January 31, 2023 – including hydropower – stands at a mere 500 GW. The solar and wind capacity is less than 400 GW.

With regards to Patna, NTPC is setting up a 250 kW rooftop solar PV power plant at its Eastern Region HQ complex which is in Patna. Recently, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd (IRCTC) also floated a tender for annual maintenance for the solar power plant at Danapur, Patna.