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Govt to introduce hydrogen-powered buses for public transport in Leh on pilot basis – EQ Mag Pro

Govt to introduce hydrogen-powered buses for public transport in Leh on pilot basis – EQ Mag Pro

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New Delhi :  As part of the exercise to promote renewable energy, the government will introduce hydrogen-powered buses for public transport in Leh (Ladakh) on a pilot basis.

This will be the first time that India will be deploying Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles for public transport. In the initial phase, five fuel cell buses will run in and around Leh.

While participating in a programme marking the culmination of ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ via video conferencing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated and laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC worth over Rs 5,200 crore.

He inaugurated the 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar Project in Telangana and the 92 MW Kayamkulam Floating Solar Project in Kerala.

Modi laid the foundation stone of the 735 MW Nokh Solar Project in Rajasthan, Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh and Kawas Green Hydrogen Blending with Natural Gas project in Gujarat.

The Green Hydrogen Mobility Project in Leh is a pilot project and aims for five Fuel Cell Buses to be run in and around the city.

This pilot project would be the first deployment of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles for public use in India, said an official release.

The Green Hydrogen Blending Pilot Project at NTPC Kawas Township will be India’s first such project, helping in reducing the usage of natural gas.

The Prime Minister also announced that work on two big green hydrogen projects in Ladakh and Gujarat is starting on Saturday.

The plant being set up in Ladakh will produce green hydrogen for vehicles in the country, he said.

It will be the first project in the country to make commercial use of green hydrogen-based transport possible.

Ladakh very soon will be the first place in the country where fuel cell electric vehicles will start to ply, Modi said, adding it will help in making Ladakh a carbon-neutral region.

As per an official release, the 735 MW Solar PV Project at Nokh in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) is India’s largest domestic content requirement-based solar project with 1,000 MWp at a single location, deploying high-wattage bifacial PV Modules with a tracker system.

The Ramagundam project is India’s largest floating solar PV project with 4.5 lakh ‘Made in India’ solar PV modules. Kayamkulam project is the second largest floating solar PV project, consisting of 3 lakh ‘Made in India’ solar PV panels floating on water.

Modi said the projects launched on Saturday are significant steps in the direction of green energy and energy security for the county.

These projects, he said, will strengthen India’s renewable energy goals, commitment and aspirations of its green mobility.

On the occasion, Modi also launched the Ministry of Power’s flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, aimed at improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of the Discoms and power departments.

With an outlay of over Rs 3 lakh crore for five years (2021-22 to 2025-26), the scheme aims to provide financial assistance to Discoms or modernisation and strengthening of distribution infrastructure, focussing on the improvement of the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers.

It also aims to reduce the AT&C (Aggregate Technical and Commercial) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15 per cent and the ACS-ARR (Average Cost of Supply-Average Revenue Realised) gap to zero by 2024-25 by improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all state-sector Discoms and power departments, the release said.

The Prime Minister said losses in the power distribution sector are in double digits, whereas in developed countries it is in single digits.

He also launched a national solar rooftop portal to enable online tracking of the process of installation of rooftop solar plants, starting from registering the applications to release of subsidies in residential consumers’ bank accounts after installation and inspection of the plant.

Source: PTI
Anand Gupta Editor - EQ Int'l Media Network