60% OF DELHI METRO NOW POWERED BY SOLAR ENERGY FROM MADHYA PRADESH

More than half of Delhi Metro now runs on solar power coming all the way from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. This means that 290 trains across 373 kilometers serving 2.6 million passengers in a single day are now green.

The solar park in Rewa is among the world’s largest single-site solar power plants spread over 1,590 acres.

The 1,590-acre Ultra Mega Solar Park in Rewa’s Gurh tehsil is among the largest single-site solar power plants in the world. And 24 percent of the park’s solar energy is being sold directly to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), meeting almost 60 percent of its daytime demand.This will essentially help DMRC not only reduce its dependence on coal, but also save Rs. 793 crore on its energy bill over the next 25 years.

The Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd, which supplies power to the state electricity distribution companies, will get the remaining 76 per cent of the power produced from the Rewa solar power plant. An innovative scheduling exercise has enabled the solar plant to provide preferential uninterrupted power supply to Delhi Metro first, even on the days without optimum sun availability.

World Bank Group Support

The park, with an installed capacity of 750 megawatt, has been made possible with support from the World Bank and Clean Technology Fund through a US$ 18 million funding as part of a Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project. The International Finance Corporation was the transaction advisor for the project.

The project will contribute immensely towards India’s aim of quadrupling its renewable energy capacity to 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022, including 100 GW of solar power. The Indian government’s plan to ramp up solar power generation is among the largest in the world and will help bring sustainable, clean, climate-friendly electricity to millions.

The park will add 2.5 percent to India’s total installed solar capacity. It also aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 1.3 million tons every year and nearly double the state’s capacity to generate solar power.

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