BEST to power bus depots with solar power

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BEST to power bus depots with solar power

BEST, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply Transport network,
has decided to power its bus depots with solar energy, Solar Inertia reported.

The BEST has a fleet of 4,680 buses, most of which are
parked at the 25 depots across the city. BEST plans to provide solar
electricity to 25 bus depots across the city.

“Electricity is needed to light up the depot almost round
the clock to run various equipment to maintain and clean buses and at the
various offices within the depots,” a senior official at BEST said. “The
administration has now decided to install solar energy panels at three depots
in the suburbs on an experimental basis. “We will gradually shift to solar
energy at all the depots,” the official stated.

Solar power will also help BEST cut down costs.

BEST committee member Ravi Raja said, “In the suburbs, we
purchase power from RInfra at a very high cost. If we switch to solar power,
the initial investment could be costly, but we will save a lot of money in the
long run.”

BEST will invite bids from solar energy providers. As a
pilot project they will start with three depots. According to Solar Inertia,
BEST is likely to start the pilot in suburbs and gradually include other
prominent depots like Colaba and Backbay in south Mumbai in the second phase.

BEST panel chairperson Ashok Patil also suggested they
can introduce LED lights as it would save 60 percent. BEST general manager Om
Prakash Gupta said LED lights were already tried at some depots and they were
not “cost-effective”.

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