Efkon Group India is a provider of electronics and engineering-based solutions that aim to improve the quality, safety and security of transportation of people and goods. Pravda Godbole spoke to Venugopal Rangarajan, director, Efkon Group India, about the company’s newest venture — green toll plazas.
Why and how did you think of the concept of green toll plazas?
Toll plazas (especially those on highways) consume a lot of energy, when seen in relation to the role they are performing — collecting toll. The booths run on diesel generator sets, resulting in huge electricity bills. Also, the energy utilised in a toll plaza, generated from fossil fuels, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
What is a green toll plaza?
It is a facility that consumes much less energy while performing the same function. The energy itself is more from renewable sources, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Further, the green toll plaza offers non-stop electronic tolling, offering queue-free tolling. When regular users start using this facility, the toll plaza will see a reduction in queues, significantly reducing vehicular pollution.
How does it work?
What we offer is an integrated solution that effectively optimises energy utilisation in areas of lighting, comfort control, electronic systems used for toll collection and office equipment. A supervisory management system monitors energy utilisation and ensures that it remains optimal and close to the design requirements.
What is the daily energy consumption of a usual toll plaza?
Around 700 units of electricity daily, for a typical 10-lane toll plaza. When this electricity is generated by local diesel generator sets it will cost around Rs 12,000 a day.
How much energy will be saved in eco-friendly toll plazas vis-a-vis regular ones?
The savings will be around 50-60 per cent.
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Will these be totally automated and without human intervention?
The use of automation is optimised — there will be automation where it is feasible and produces results. For example, toll lanes for non-stop tolling are automated and unmanned.
Will vehicles need any additional features to become green toll plaza-friendly?
Practically nothing, in terms of features. They will need a small electronic tag installed on or close to their windshield to participate in non-stop electronic tolling.
What is the pre-requisite for a toll plaza to become a green one?
Building from scratch gives the best results, as the design involves certain passive architectural elements as well. However, existing plazas can also be converted to green plazas.
How much money is the company investing in this project?
As we will set up the green toll plaza for our customers, the amount will be invested by them. We have invested over two years of our time in establishing a library of solutions from which we can evolve the optimal solution for any type of toll plaza.
What is the cost of a single green toll plaza, including all overheads?
A green toll plaza will need only around 10 per cent higher investment, compared to a conventional plaza.
Have you run a pilot yet?
The individual technologies have been tried out successfully.