Central station to tap solar energy

Railways installing rooftop panels at eight stations across the State

As part of the ‘go green’ initiative of Railways, installation of rooftop solar panels is in the final phase in eight key stations and divisional office headquarters buildings in the State.

Thiruvananthapuram Central is tipped to be the first railway station to go on stream by installing a 250 kW solar power plant. Installation of solar panels are also progressing in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Shoranur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Thalassery railway stations.

Solar panels have been installed atop platform one, two and three; the main building; PRS centre; and the retiring room of the Central station here. The rooftop solar photovoltaic systems are connected to the grid and are awaiting the nod of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

“Currently, Railways pay ₹ 8 a unit to the KSEB. Once solar energy is produced, Railways will need to pay ₹3.77. This will be a big savings on electricity bill,” Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shirish Kumar Sinha said.

A 10-kW solar plant is on stream at the office of the DRM in Thiruvananthapuram and 50-52 units of power are being generated daily. The installation of a 230-kW solar power plant in Ernakulam and 100- kW solar plant in Thrissur is nearing completion.

BOT mode

The plants are being installed on build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode by Azure Power Rooftop Solutions Pvt Ltd. They will handover the solar plants in Thiruvananthapuram Central, Ernakulam and Thrissur to Railways after 25 years.

In adjoining Palakkad division, a rooftop solar power plant with a capacity of 105 kW has been set up at the DRM’s office and it is connected to the power grid. An average of 1,27,750 units will be generated annually resulting in savings of ₹ 10, 22, 000 to Railways, a railway spokesman said.

The installation of rooftop solar power plants in Palakkad, Shoranur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Thalasseri under Railway Energy Management Company Ltd project is in the final stage. The total capacity of these plants is 300 kW and they can generate 3,83,250 units annually.

Central Electronics Ltd is the implementing agency for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The initiative is part of the plans to set up 1,000 MW of solar power by 2020 through PPP mode on vacant railway land, rooftops of stations and office buildings.