India may be one of the most environmentally-unfriendly countries in the world, but they sure are making a great effort to combat their emissions and eco-laws as of late. Last month, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the nation’s intention to convert 7,000 of their railway stations into solar-powered facilities and eliminate traditional energy use in these stations.
“It is proposed to feed at least 7,000 stations with solar power in the medium term. A beginning has already been made in 300 stations,” Jaitley said.
The plan includes the installation of solar panels directly on the roof and surrounding ground of the stations, and the first phase with minimum megawatt capacity has already begun in two states. Further phases involve increasing the megawatt capacity at all railway stations and making them completely reliant on solar power.
Some are concerned with the funding behind this project, but India has been collecting taxes on coal mined within the country and imported from elsewhere for years and has so far generated more than $8 billion in taxes.
“The revenue from the tax has also gone to efforts to clean drinking water and the conservation of India’s forests. In total, India has collected about $8 billion from the coal tax, about 40 percent of which has gone to the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF),” explained Sputnik News.
About $1.8 billion has been designated for this railway project, although no end date was announced. India recently became the owner of the world’s largest solar plant, which is perfect timing for commencement of this huge endeavor.
India is one of the worst polluters for both air and the ocean in the entire world, but the country is taking small steps to reduce their carbon footprint. This is certainly a step in the right direction, and other countries with the worst emissions should take note and adopt similar practices that are eco-friendly.
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