The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) green efforts are finally paying off. The agency has earned Rs 2.4 crore ($ 5,42,269) from the sale of 82,000 certified emission reductions (CER) under the carbon credits scheme by the Japan Finance Carbon Ltd in 2008 and 2009. While the DMRC earned Rs 1.07 crore through the sale of 39,000 CERs for 2008, it earned Rs 1.33 crore through the sale of 43,000 CERs for 2009. These payments were received in March and April.
The DMRC hopes to channel the funds generated by the sale back into its carbon credits programme, as well as into research and development of technology for reducing greenhouse emissions.
Incidentally, DMRC was the first railway project in the world to be registered by the United Nations under the clean development mechanism (CDM) which enabled it to claim carbon credits, wherein DMRC earns CER for the use of regenerative braking system in its rolling stock (trains). "This was the first time in the world that the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) had registered a project based on regenerative braking,
Under the regenerative braking process, whenever trains on the Metro network apply brakes, three phase-traction motors installed on these trains act as generators to produce electrical energy which goes back into the over head electricity (OHE) lines. The regenerated electrical energy supplied back to the OHE is used by other accelerating trains on the same service line, thus saving overall energy in the system as about 30 per cent of electricity requirement is reduced.
A Germany-based validation organization TUV NORD which conducted an audit on behalf of UNFCCC certified in 2009 that DMRC had stopped emission of 90,004 tonnes of carbon dioxide from 2004 to 2007 by adoption of regenerative braking systems in the Delhi metro trains. DMRC started the CDM project in September 2006.
The DMRC spokesperson said, "The money earned from the sale of CERs will be used to offset the additional investment and operation costs incurred due to the implementation of the project activity, to stimulate research and development activities and to give extensive training to train operators for optimum regeneration."
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