Nagpur Metro Rail may use solar power for operations

NAGPUR, May 17: The Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (NMRCL) may use solar power in a big way to run the service and wants to tie-up with German government for technological and financial support, a senior official said. The NMRCL plans to install a 30 MW capacity solar plant which can be used for the Metro railway stations. The solar system, once installed, will meet 40 percent of the energy requirement, including traction power, he said. The corporation will not spend any money for generating this power. The project will be executed by an operator, said NMRCL Managing Director Brajesh Dixit, who recently visited Germany to study the project's feasibility. The German government is positive about the project and federal government agency GIZ has shown interest in giving the know-how for solar project of Nagpur Metro, he said. "KfW, a German government-owned bank, is also willing to provide soft loan as well as extending technical know-how for Nagpur metro's solar project. It is already funding solar projects in India in coordination with IREDA and Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy," Dixit said, adding that European Investment Bank too was going through the proposal. Dixit, accompanied by assistant engineer Rajiv Yelkawar, had visited Frankfurt and Berlin earlier this month. The German agencies also showed readiness to fund the Rs 3,000 crore needed for the Metro project, Dixit said. "If French agency FDA does not provide Rs 1,500 crore as planned and agreed earlier, Germany is ready to provide this sum too," he added. Teams from German agencies will visit the city in the last week of this month to evaluate the project. Meanwhile, taking a step ahead and giving momentum to the ambitious work of Nagpur Metro Rail, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya yesterday inaugurated the commencement of work of geo-technical investigation in Metro Rail project. Dixit, Divisional Commissioner Anoop Kumar, NIT Chairman Shyam Wardhane, District Collector Abhishek Krishna, were present on the occasion. Geo-technical Investigation plays a crucial role in designing of the most important and critical component of the entire Metro Rail System. The soil investigation will reveal strata of soil for laying the foundation of Metro Rail, an official release said.