The Kadiyam railway station in Vijayawada division has earned the rare distinction of becoming the first energy-neutral station in the South Central Railway (SCR) by meeting all its electrical demands through solar energy.
A roof-top solar energy plant, with 10 KWP on grid capacity, with bi-directional and net metering, has been installed in the Kadiyam station.
“On similar lines, Dwarapudi and Godavari stations in the Rajahmundry section in the division have been developed as energy-neutral stations with sufficient capacity to match its energy consumption,” said Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) P. Srinivas. He complimented the electrical and mechanical section officers and staff for the achievement.
Win-win situation
In the Kadiyam station, the entire electric load is taken from the solar power plant during day and the excess units generated from the plant is given to the Discom through net metering. During night, power is drawn from the Discom, which will be deducted from the energy supplied to the company during day. The power bill paid to the Discom is ‘zero’ from the Railways, the officials said.
The three stations have been equipped with all energy efficient equipment such as LED light, brushless DC electric motors, fans, star rated pumps and other material to minimise electrical consumption.
SCR General Manager Gajanan Mallya along with Principal Chief Electrical Engineer A.A. Phadke recently visited the Kadiyam railway station.
Vijayawada railway division has successfully converted three stations into energy-neutral ones as against the target of one station, for the year 2019-20, by harnessing solar energy, the DRM added.
