Noida Authority and EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to install one hundred charging stations to promote the use of electric vehicles in Noida.
According to an official, the survey work is currently underway in order to finalize the spots where these stations are going to be set up. Out of the 100 charging stations, three are going to come up at Indra Gandhi Kala Kendra and commercial hubs in Sector 18 and Sector 62. These are expected to become functional within a week.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Noida Authority Chairperson Alok Tandon, CEO Ritu Maheshwari, and EESL Managing Director Saurabh Kumar, the official said. According to the official, the authority is also planning to lease five electric vehicles from EESL to be used for official purposes. Work is underway at six other sites for setting up charging stations. Three of these stations will be on-road, while three will be off-road, with each having a capacity of at least 11 kV, they said.
Tandon said that the MoU with EESL was part of a "green initiatives. Infrastructure for electric vehicles will encourage the use of clean energy-based vehicles and help check pollution, conserve the environment". As per the MoU, the Noida Authority will provide space for EESL to set up 100 charging stations at public parking lots. "EESL will set up, operate and maintain the charging stations and the entire system is based on revenue sharing model," Tandon said.
EESL MD Saurabh Kumar said they have already established 55 such charging stations in Delhi under the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) area, while similar projects were underway in Gurgaon, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mumbai, and Chandigarh. "Electric vehicles (EVs) are a viable solution to combat air pollution and ensure a greener future. We are spearheading EV adoption in India under the government's National E-Mobility Programme. EESL believes that ensuring consumer convenience is critical to accelerating e-mobility in India. Developing a robust supporting infrastructure, is, therefore, key to catalyze consumer confidence in EVs," Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari said that Maheshwari said installing public charging stations will reduce anxiety among residents, and accelerate the adoption of EVs in the city. "A robust public charging infrastructure complements the legislative efforts in creating a sustainable EV ecosystem. With the increasing penetration of EVs, the local emission of pollutants is also expected to reduce, leading to cleaner air and several public health benefits," the NOIDA CEO said.
The Noida Authority will also lease five electric vehicles from EESL, in a bid to lead the change to cleaner mobility options, Tandon said.
According to officials, two of these 100 charging stations would come at public spaces within a week, while others would be set up eventually. Kumar said EESL has already placed a bulk order of 10,000 cars, Tata Tigor, and Mahindra Verito, and procured over 1,500 of them so far. "1,510 cars we procured have been deployed in service of the government, including those in the prime minister's office (PMO), Finance Ministry, Cabinet Secretariat," he claimed.
Talking about the cost of this initiative, Kumar said it takes generally Rs two lakh to set up a charging station, which can charge four vehicles at a time. The general cost per unit of electricity would fall around Rs nine or Rs 10 and a full charge for a vehicle would take around 90 minutes, he said. "A full charge in these vehicles would cost Rs 170, enabling them to run for 120 km. This is much cheaper than fossil fuels and CNG. Now, new EVs are also being introduced which have a run limit of over 400 km on a single full charge," Kumar said.
Comments
0 comment