The Indian Railways is turning towards green initiatives for electrification as well as decarbonization and is already aggressively expanding its solar portfolio.
It will soon launch tenders to set up large-scale solar power projects, inching closer towards its overall solar power target of 5 GW. The 5 GW capacity will consist of utility-scale and rooftop solar power projects.
Green Initiatives so far…
- In October 2017, the Indian Railways awarded a total of 30 MW of rooftop solar contracts to Azure Power (20 MW) and Fourth Partner Energy (10 MW).
- In August 2017, Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL) successfully auctioned 67.38 MW of rooftop solar projects for the Indian Railways.
- In April 2017, the Indian Railways Organization for Alternate Fuel, an Indian Railways entity, and Bharat Heavy Electricals entered into an agreement to develop a 2 MW solar rooftop project in the city of Patiala in southeastern Punjab.
- In March 2017, Azure Power won bids to develop 46 MW of rooftop solar for the Indian Railways.
- Lastly, in September 2017, ABB India announced it would be providing solar inverters to support rooftop solar systems installations in 750 railway stations in the northern part of India in partnership with Azure Power.