Around 200 MW of wind energy will be added in the next two years
Indian Railways to become 100% Green Railway in the next ten years
The Indian Railways is slated to adopt around 1000 MW solar energy and around 200 MW of wind energy in the next two years. The new clean energy projects will be implemented across Zonal Railways and Production Units by 2021-22. Out of the 1000 MW allocated for solar projects, 500 MW rooftop solar projects will be set up on Railway buildings. The rooftop solar plants will be utilized for non-traction loads at Railway stations and other related areas. The remaining 500 MW will be ground mounted projects directed towards both traction and non-traction systems.
Earlier in 2019, Minister of Railways of India, Piyush Goyal unveiled a plan to transform the Indian Railways into a 100% green system. This plan which is estimated to take ten years to attain fruition will make the Indian Railways the world’s first 100% green operator. Also, Indian Railways is set to install 5 GW solar generation capacity by 2025. The Indian Railways is the country’s biggest electricity consumer and the third largest high speed diesel user. The Indian Railways also intends to develop around 30 GW of solar generation capacity on 51,000 hectares of its land. The 100% clean energy target will create a large number of jobs and will contribute 5% of the national solar target of installing 100 GW of solar generation capacity by 2022.
Sixteen stations across India have been declared Green Railways Stations on account of generating energy completely from solar or wind or both. These stations are Roha, Pen, Apta in Central Railway; Niamatpur halt, Kanhaipur halt, Teka Bigha halt, Mai halt, Garsanda halt, Niyazipur halt, Dhamaraghat in East Central Railway; Shri Mata Vaisno Devi, Shimla in Northern Railway; Unhel, Khanderi, Bajud, Ambli Road, Sadanapura & Sachin in Western Railway are stations powered by 100% clean energy.
South Central Railway is a zone that is more swiftly taking to the clean energy transition by adopting more renewable energy sources for electricity generation at its facilities. The South Central Railway has been engaged in establishing solar panels at its stations, service buildings, LC (level crossing) gates and so on. This move by the Indian Railways and particularly South Central Railway will not only mitigate environmental impact but also save expenditure on electricity to a large extent. The anticipated savings for the Indian Railways on account of all its clean energy initiatives is estimated to be Rs.5 lakhs per annum at the moment. These renewable energy initiatives will also reduce the carbon footprint of the railway entity by around 49 metric tons per annum.
The Nandyal – Yerraguntla section in Guntakal Division, Andhra Pradesh has been confirmed to be the first solar belt in the South Central Railway zone. All the eight stations in the Nandyal – Yerraguntla sector have solar panels that meet the entire energy needs of the respective region.
Image by LushLitBlog from Pixabay
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