ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways (PR) plans to put over 180 railway stations across the country on solar power at a cost of Rs1.25 billion to ensure uninterrupted operations, WealthPK reported on Sunday.
The PR has started solarising its stations in pursuance of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Clean and Green Pakistan vision. The project will be executed on a build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) basis, said an official of the ministry of railways.
“Frequent power outages hamper operations at many stations, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh provinces. So, it has been decided to put these stations on solar power to ensure uninterrupted power supply,” the official informed WealthPK.
According to the official, in the first phase, PR will put the stations in major cities, including Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Sukkar, Quetta and Karachi, on solar power, and in the second stage, other stations will be converted to renewable energy.
The official said a total of 4.25MW capacity solar panels will be installed at a cost of Rs1.25 billion.
The PR official said with the completion of the Rs1.25 billion project, about 10,000 electricity meters would be returned to Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). “The solarisation project will help railways save about Rs2 billion in electricity bills,” the official informed WealthPK, saying the solar systems will be connected to the grid-tied inverters – which work only with reverse or green meters.
The official further said that some of the solar systems will have hybrid inverters – which will not only supply the excess energy to the Wapda grid, but will also charge the batteries connected to them, thus ensuring smooth power supply to the railway stations.
The official said this was the flagship project of PR to help streamline its operations. He added the project’s cost will be covered in five to six years.
He said the bidding process for the project is currently underway.
According to the official, the project will help decrease PR’s reliance on grid-generated electricity and diesel for running generators. “The solarisation project will help the railways cut back on its share of carbon emissions and acquire greater energy security for its operations.”
INP
