In a bid to produce solar power, the national transporter is taking numerous significant steps that are expected to help Indian Railways reduce their dependence on traditional sources of energy as well as minimize the environmental damage. According to the Railway Ministry, the national transporter has planned to source around 1000 MW solar power and around 200 MW of wind power progressively by the year 2021-22 across all zones and production units of Indian Railways. Out of this, solar plants of 500 MW are to be installed on the railway buildings’ roof tops to meet non-traction loads at railway stations, etc. While land-based solar plants of around 500 MW will be used to meet both traction as well as non-traction requirements.
To boost the usage of solar power, Indian Railways with Indian Railway Organisation for Alternate Fuels (IROAF) is installing flexible solar panels on coaches. With lithium-ion batteries, as many as 450 DEMU trailer coaches are being installed with flexible solar panels. Also, 500 passenger trains with existing batteries are being installed with flexible solar panels. The flexible solar panels can be easily installed on train coaches. They are nearly 80 per cent lighter than conventional solar modules. The flexible solar panels do not require a lot of money for maintenance and they are also do not affect the aesthetic and aerodynamics of the train.
Meanwhile, the Railway Ministry in a recent press release stated that 16 railway stations on Indian Railways network have already been declared Green railway stations. These railway stations are meeting energy needs completely either through solar power or wind power. These 100 per cent Green powered stations are Roha, Apta, Pen in Central Railway zone, Niamatpur halt, Niyazipur halt, Teka Bigha halt, Mai halt, Kanhaipur halt, Garsanda halt, Dhamaraghat in East Central Railway zone, Shimla, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi in Northern Railway zone, Unhel, Ambli Road, Khanderi, Bajud, Sadanapura and Sachin in Western Railway zone.