Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced, a comprehensive strategy has been established to develop Pakistan’s Railways on modern lines, under which solar panels of international standards will be installed at seven railway stations to save electricity.
As per the announcement, it has been decided that the solar panels will be installed at 45 railway stations and offices of main cities including Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Multan, and Sukkur divisions with a budget of Rs 40 million.
According to the sources, in the first phase, the Pakistan railway has selected three points in Peshawar, five in Rawalpindi divisions, 20 in Lahore division, four in Multan division, five in Sukkur division, three in Quetta division, and five in Karachi division.
The sources reported that, after the successful completion of this initiative,solar panels will be installed at other railway stations in the country.
However, the excess electricity generated by these solar panels will be sent to the main grid station of the Water and Electricity Development Authority.
Indeed, solar panels will give more real-world potential for railway lines. The initiative has been taken to use alternative energy sources to produce and save electricity.
Previously, the announcement was made in 2023, the PR railway director Nazia Jabeen stated that the cost of the project would be around Pakistani Rs 450 million. Pakistan currently has a capacity of just under 2 GW, and has a target of 12.8 GW by 2030, as per the figures released by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
In addition, she elaborate that LED lights along with the solar energy system would be installed which would also save Rs 28.92 million per year.
Moreover, the project capacity has been estimated at 2308 kilowatts and 3.2 million units per annum with 20 percent efficiency to be produced in a year.
In contrast, after the completion of the project, railway stations would be able to save around Rs 52 million annually which is decided to spend on fuel and maintenance of diesel generators.
As per the officials, Pakistan Railway would save Rs 70.62 million per year due to the tariff difference between WAPDA and solar electricity costs. Pakistan railway has a total complete route length of just over 11,000 Km.
If we talk about the neighborhood country India, the government has used the massive railway system to push rooftop solar. That ensures that all railways are solarised and helps the government to save energy at a massive level.
Indeed, solar panels are the best energy source to utilize perfectly. As Pakistan is constantly facing an energy crisis and it has been difficult for the government to cope with or control the energy crisis.
Not only at the industrial level but it is facing the issues at residential level also. Solar panel installation helps in maintaining electricity and saving power which will help government to balance the power at all levels.
Solar panels are easily available and now different companies are offering different packages to provide ease to their customers in terms of installation. As it yeh the best natural source to generate electricity.
Railway Stations to receive solar panels soon
