Indian Railways sets global standards by this noteworthy achievement! In a one-of-a-kind instance, Piush Goyal-led Indian Railways has set up a solar power plant in Bina, located in the state of Madhya Pradesh to directly power the Railway Overhead Line. According to Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav, for the first time in the world, such a unique power plant has been installed. This project is unique because, for the first time in the world, the power generated by the solar power plant will be directly fed to the overhead power lines of the national transporter to power the traction system of the electric locomotives to run trains, he said.
According to details shared by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the pilot project of 1.7 mega watt solar power plant has been set up by Indian Railways in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) on railway land. The solar power plant project has been set up at Bina Traction Sub Station. The 1.7 mega watt solar power plant can produce around 25 lakh units of energy annually and save about an amount of Rs 1.37 crore for Indian Railways.
According to the Railway Board Chairman, Indian Railways is planning to install solar power plants with a total capacity of 3 giga watts, in the coming years. The power generated by these solar plants will directly feed the traction power for locomotives, he said. The tenders have already been invited for this project, however, it will take around two to three years to complete this project, he further stated.
According to Yadav, the 1.7 mega watt solar power plant in Bina has been set up on an experimental basis. The purpose behind setting up this power plant was to prove the technology as the same technology is likely to be used for the 3 giga watts solar power plant. At present, the 1.7 mega watt solar power plant is under extensive testing, he added.
The power plant, for feeding directly to Railway’s overhead traction system, involves converting Direct Current to single phase Alternating Current.