The future of mobility? Polluting, low-impact vehicles that can meet their own energy needs. The new frontier of transportation is energy self-sufficiency : in India, more precisely in New Delhi, this is already a reality.
READ ALSO: In Pesaro, the "bicipolitana," a subway with lines dedicated to bicycles
SOLAR-POWERED METROPOLITAN
By 2021, the New Delhi Metro , announced its operating company, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, will be powered by 100% solar energy, self-generated by a series of very powerful solar panels installed on the roofs of depots, stations, and garages. This 28 megawatts of power, which until now had been used for services like air conditioning , is now being used to power trains.
The trial will start on the Violet Line , which connects the central Central Secretariat station with the south-eastern suburbs, for a total of 20 km and some 16 stations.
New Delhi's Solar-Powered Metro
The announcement is in line with the direction taken in recent years by the New Delhi Metro management body: already in 2011 , in fact, the DMRC's attention to the environment had been rewarded, and the UN had certified and awarded it as the first "green" and entirely solar-powered metro in the world, as well as for having reduced its emissions, contributing to lowering the capital's extremely high pollution levels of 630.000 tons of CO2 per year.
However, the objective of the Indian transport authority is much more ambitious, and for this reason a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Rewa Solar Power Project, an eco-friendly solar power generation and distribution project that will meet the domestic energy demand of the entire Madya Pradesh district.
The solar power plant, located near Rewa, is a site that generates electricity in the amount of thousands and thousands of watts: as much as 750 megawatts of energy produced simply by harnessing the sun, making it the largest solar panel site in the world.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Solingo, the first Italian-made solar-powered moped. It's pollution-free, can reach speeds of 35 kilometers per hour, and has a range of 115 kilometers (photo).
METRO INDIANA SOLAR ENERGY
With solar panels installed in the stations alone, in fact, there was a risk of not being able to absorb the energy needs of the trains, so the additional 27 megawatts or so required to operate the metro were guaranteed by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar , a sign of an environmentally friendly collaboration that continues even after the 2013 pilot project, the Solar PV Project, which includes 500 kW photovoltaic panels , connected to the electricity grid and used to reduce carbon emissions and absorb 67% of the energy needed for air conditioning and lighting in the stations.
MILAN'S SOLAR-POWERED METRO
Even in Italy we have virtuous examples of sustainable mobility: in Milan , for example, the “red” metro , the first line of the underground transport network of the Lombardy capital, which connects the city from north-east to west, is powered by solar energy, thanks to a series of photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of a vehicle depot of the Milan Transport Company.
The small solar power plant is located on the roof of the Precotto depot, it is almost as big as 4 football fields and produces 1,4 million kilowatt hours per year, partially powering the red line of the Milan metro.
Since the year the solar-powered metro was put into operation, it has significantly reduced polluting emissions by approximately 70 thousand kg of
CO2.
SOLAR-POWERED METROPOLITAN RAILWAY IN SANTIAGO, CHILE
Chile is one of the sunniest areas in the world, making the sun one of the cleanest and most available sources of energy.
Even in Santiago de Chile, therefore, they have decided to experiment with a powered subway for the 60% with solar energy, and the remaining 40% with wind energyIt will therefore be powered entirely by renewable and eco-sustainable energy.
The solar panels that will directly power the metro network have been installed 640 km away from the capital , near the Atacama Desert , and solar-powered trains have been up and running since 2017.
The solar plant was built by California SunPower and has a unique feature: its modular panels are "low-cost" panels designed to minimize installation and maintenance time and costs. Furthermore, the panels are handled by special robots to keep them clean, as the desert is very dusty. This measure can increase the amount of energy generated by up to 15%.
STORIES OF SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY:
- Cycling to work, municipalities pay 25 cents per kilometer. Abroad, companies pay as much as $10 per day (photo)
- Muv, the Palermo-based game show that promotes sustainable mobility.
- "We were born to walk" - a school initiative in Milan promoting sustainable mobility.
- Cycling holidays: a short guide to cycle tourism. From the crew to the route.
- Zero-emission electric car: 120 kilometers of range in half an hour of charging
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