SunEdison announced on September 6th the successful installation and operation of eight solar systems for India's Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The newly finished Badarpur-Faridabad line is the first metro line in the DMRC network to integrate solar into the design of the buildings. The solar systems are built on the roofs of the stations and depot and are expected to generate 1.9 megawatts (MW) of clean, reliable, and cost effective solar power.
"Millions of people rely on the Delhi Metro each day and by installing SunEdison's solar system in eight of the metro lines, we are excited that these commuters will be able to benefit from a clean and reliable source of electricity," said Pashupathy Gopalan, SunEdison's president of Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa. "These systems took only two months to build and will generate electricity for the metro line for 25 to 30 years with little maintenance cost."
A DMRC representative commented: "The solar plants on the rooftops of the Faridabad line represent our commitment to clean energy, and to bringing the best technology and expertise to support our network. We thank SunEdison for their work on these plants, and look forward to working with them again."
The solar systems are expected to generate 2.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, and avoid the emission of 1,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking 363 cars off the road or preventing more than 800 metric tons of coal from being burned.
SunEdison is building similar solar power plants generating 1.7 MW at the rail company's Yamuna Bank station and Yamuna Bank yard. Operation and maintenance of the solar power plants will be performed by SunEdison Services, which provides global 24/7 asset management, monitoring and reporting services.