Adding solar panels to a six coach DEMU train could save
Indian Railways around 21,000 liters of diesel per year
(Credit: Northern Railway)
A new Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train was officially
entered into service by India's Minister of Railways Shri Suresh
Prabhakar Prabhu on July 14. The train left Safdarjung Station in
south Delhi pulling six carriages topped with PV panels to meet the
needs of its electrical systems with clean energy.
The project is part of an effort by Indian Railways to reduce the
carbon footprint of its diesel-reliant train network, a plan that
includes the building of five 1,000 MW solar plants over the next 5
years, as well as making use of bio fuels and wind energy,
installing bio-toilets, and recycling water.
Multiple carriages with PV panels on the 1,600 hp DEMU
train's roof soak up the Indian sunshine during transit. This energy
juices up 120 Ah battery packs to take the strain off the diesel
part of the locomotive's powertrain by serving the electrical needs
of the train, such as lighting, door operation, passenger
information and so on. Such systems would normally require a
diesel-driven generator for power.
Each coach rocks 16 photovoltaic panels rated at 300 W
per panel, with the system having the potential to develop up to 20
kWh of energy per day. Storing unused energy in the battery banks
should also mean that the train's electrical systems can operate at
night without needing diesel intervention. It's reckoned that adding
solar panels to a six coach DEMU train could save Indian Railways
around 21,000 liters of diesel per year, while reducing the carbon
signature of each coach by 9 tonnes per annum.
The trained launched last week may be the first
panel-topped train to enter service, but it won't be the last – the
Ministry for Railways has said that 24 more coaches are scheduled to
be fitted with PV panels over the next 6 months.
You can see the launch of the PV-packed DEMU train in
the video below.
Source:
Ministry of Railways
http://newatlas.com/indian-railways-solar-demu-train/50534