Country’s first Metro network received another feather in its cap today. The Kolkata Metro Railway inaugurated the first ever 6.4 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), at the Central sub-station of the Blue Line.
The 4 MW BESS with 6.4 MWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery as energy storage system along with the micro grid are first of its kind among all Metro railways in the country, according to Metro railway officials. The newly installed BESS would enable the Metro to run trains in the underground stretch of the Blue Line during major power outages. It would help Kolkata Metro to draw immediate traction power support during grid failures or power interruptions, allowing passenger-carrying trains to be safely hauled to the nearest station. The new system has been designed in such a way that the electricity generated by it can be used to haul passenger-packed stranded rakes from the mid-tunnel to the next station in case of any power failure or even national grid failure. The batteries have the capacity to operate 15 rakes during situations of outages, according to the engineers of the Japanese company, Delta Electronics India, that has developed and designed the BESS along with the engineers of the city Metro.
The new battery system has been installed at the sub-station of Central Metro station near Bowbazar. The batteries are installed in ‘battery racks’ that have around 13 modules in each rack. The battery room at Bowbazar contains 88 such battery cases and for units that can convert the stored form of energy into a usable one. The supply of 4 MW power generated by this battery pack would help to any station between Dum Dum to Tollygunge of North-South Corridor using a 33 KV ring main system. The city Metro is said to have spent around Rs 20 crores on the project. However, according to the general manager of the city Metro, Subhransu Mishra, the amount would be recovered during the lifetime of the batteries. It has a potential to save the peak hour demand which may help Metro Railway to save Rs 20 crore in its lifetime.
According to Niranjan Nayak, Managing Director, Delta Electronics India, the deployment of the battery energy storage has been developed in about six to eight months. In addition to emergency traction support, the system enables peak power management, power factor improvement, driving sustained operational efficiency.