Indian Railways Awards 46 Megawatts Of Rooftop Solar Capacity
Indian Railways, the world’s fourth largest rail network, recently awarded its largest rooftop solar power tender.
Azure Power, a major independent solar power developer, was awarded 46 megawatts of rooftop solar power capacity. The projects have been awarded at an average tariff of Rs 4.63/kWh (7.10¢/kWh) with a capital cost support of Rs 93 crore ($14 million). This incentive will be paid once projects are commissioned.
The 46 megawatts of capacity is divided across several regions. Northern Railways will have the largest share with 20 megawatts, followed by 10 megawatts each for Western and North-Central Railways, 3 megawatts for North-Western Railways, and 3 megawatts for the Rail Coach Factory division.
Inderpreet Wadhwa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Azure Power said, “Azure has superior rooftop solar power solutions for infrastructure, commercial and industrial customers in cities across India to lower their energy costs and meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. We are pleased to partner with Indian Railways in reducing their GHG emissions through deployment of solar energy at their facilities across locations pan- India.”
Azure Power has also completed a rooftop solar power project for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the subway system that runs in the Indian capital. The company installed a total of 14 megawatts of capacity over station rooftops.
Azure Power now boasts of a rooftop solar portfolio of 100 megawatts across 14 states with an overall portfolio of more than 1 gigawatt across 18 Indian states.
Indian Railways aims to set up 5,000 megawatts of solar power capacity over the next few years through a combination of utility-scale and rooftop projects. The Indian Finance Minister, in his union budget speech for FY2017-18, had announced that 7,000 railways stations across the country will have rooftop solar power systems. A pilot project has already covered 300 stations and this number is expected to increase to 2,000 soon.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
