The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal dedicated 5MW solar power plant on railways to the nation at the inauguration of the International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification held in New Delhi on October 27.
(Representational image)
This is the largest plant commissioned by Indian Railway in India on the rooftop of railway stations. A 700-kW array at Hazrat Nizamuddin will generate 100,000 kWh/year, and 800 kW at Anand Vihar is also expected to produce 110,000 kWh/year. Whereas, 2.05 MW at New Delhi and 1.5 MW at Old Delhi Railway Station will generate 200,000 kWh and 250,000 kWh per year respectively.
These projects were awarded under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in December 2016 at INR 4.14 ($ 0.064)/kWh, the lowest tariff on Indian Railways at that time.
The entire project costs at INR 374.5 million ($5.78 million) will cover 30% of the energy requirement. The project, developed under Net-Metering scheme, is supported by a PPA covering O&M for 25 years.
The plants will save INR 42.14 million ($650,000) and will also reduce 6,082 Tons of CO2 emission per year.