The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has started receiving solar power from the Rewa’s Mega Solar Power Project of Madhya Pradesh.

The Corporation received 27 MW power from the Rewa solar project, which will gradually increase it to 99 MW—according to DMRC’s press statement.

“The power received from Rewa will be utilised for the operational as well as auxiliary requirements of the Delhi Metro. Till now, the solar power generated by the rooftop solar plants installed in DMRC premises were utilised for the auxiliary requirements such as lighting and air conditioning of stations, depots, etc,” the DMRC statement said.

“On an average about 345 million units (MU) of power will be received from Rewa in a calendar year. In 2018-19, Delhi Metro consumed about 1092 MU for its operations,” it added.

To mark the beginning of this new arrangement, DMRC’s managing director Mangu Singh, Rewa Ultra Mega Solar chairperson Manu Srivastava, International Solar Alliance director general Upendra Tripathi and other senior officials travelled on a solar-powered Metro train from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Station to Central Secretariat.

Notably, the Delhi Metro is a pioneer in terms of creating solar power generation infrastructure in the country today. Apart from the power received from Rewa, it generates about 28 MW of solar power through a number of rooftop solar power projects that have been installed on Delhi Metro’s stations, residential colonies and depots.

Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project in Madhya Pradesh has a total capacity of 750 MW. It is one of the largest single-site solar power plants in India and the world. The DMRC will purchase 24 per cent of the project’s electricity generation, while the state discoms will receive the remaining 76 per cent, the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (MPUVNL) added.