Orders placed for 198 MW solar rooftop capacity for 550 stations which are under execution
Indian Railways has solarised more than 960 stations till date, according to a statement released by the organization. The use of solar power will accelerate the Railways’ mission to achieve the goal of becoming Net Zero Carbon Emission Railway, adds the statement.
Indian Railways has developed a mega plan for installing solar plants of 20 GW capacity by utilizing its vacant land by 2030.
Orders have also been placed for 198 MW solar rooftop capacity for 550 stations which are under execution.
Indian Railways has a mega plan for installing solar plants of 20 GW capacity by utilizing its vacant land by 2030. Some of the stations solarised are Varanasi, New Delhi, Old Delhi, Jaipur, Secunderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Howrah.
About 51,000 hectares of vacant land available with Indian Railways. This land may be allotted to developers for installing solar power plants. IR is also set to achieve 100% electrification by the year 2023.
Bids for 3 GW solar projects on vacant Railway land parcels and land parcels along the railway track have already been invited by Railway Energy Management Company Ltd. (REMCL), a PSU of Indian Railways. These solar projects, besides supplying power to Indian Railways at a reduced tariff, will also protect the Railway land by the construction of a boundary wall along the track.
It may be noted that Indian Railways had recently organised a meet of leading solar power developers who had shared their expectations of being partners in the journey of Indian Railways to become “net zero carbon emitter” before 2030.
Indian Railways is set to produce solar energy for meeting all it’s energy consumption needs of more than 33 billion units by 2030. The current annual requirement is about 20 billion units.