Indian Railways goes eco-friendly

Published on January 3, 2018

Indian Railways Plans to install 100 % LED lighting at all railways stations and set up 500 MW grid-connected rooftop solar photo voltaic systems.

Indian Railways (IR) is the national railroad carrier of India which transports more than 23 million passengers and 2.4 million tonnes of freight each day and employs 1.34 million employees.

100% LED lit

Ministry of Railways has decided to make all railway stations 100% LED lit by March 2018. The initiative will result in saving of approx 240 million units of electricity, savings of about $28 million per annum besides reducing GHG emission.

Saving in Electricity consumption - 240 million units of electricity
Saving in expenditure on electricity - $28.00 million per annum

Indian Railways (IR) is the national railroad carrier of India which transports more than 23 million passengers and 2.4 million tonnes of freight each day and employs 1.34 million employees. It consumes almost 2% of India’s total electricity consumption. IR expenditure on fuel, that includes electricity, is the second largest component of working expenditure. Therefore, it makes sense for IR to take energy efficiency measures in traction and non-traction use to reduce expenditure on electricity and also add to India's climate change mitigation effort.

Under this initiative, Ministry of Railways has taken a decision to replace existing lighting fixtures with LEDs at all railways stations on Indian Railways network.

100% LED lighting at all railway stations will lead to a reduction in consumption of energy by about 10% of the total energy being utilized for its Non-traction uses. This would result in savings of about 240 million units of electricity, which will save about $28.00 million per annum to Railways. It would also improve the public image of Indian Railways among passengers.

Solar Mission

As a part of an overall strategy to shift to renewable energy, Indian Railways has come up with a policy for setting up grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be developed at offices, buildings, railway stations of zonal railways. This would help India achieve its 2030 emissions reduction goals as well as improve energy security by reducing fossil fuel import.

In order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and add to India's climate change mitigation effort, Indian Railways has developed a Solar Mission. As part of this mission, Railways has an ambitious target to source 25% of its energy requirement from renewable energy sources by 2025 by setting up 5,000 MW of capacity in solar and wind energy. Under this programme, IR has a plan to set up 1000 MW solar power plant by utilizing roof-top space of railway stations, other railway buildings and land including through the PPP mode as per the feasibility as under:

(I) 500 MW solar plants on the rooftop of Railway buildings through developer mode with PPA by Railways, which will be used for meeting non- traction power supply loads.
(II) 500 MW solar plants to be put up on land-based systems with PPAs to be signed by railways with developers, primarily to meet traction power supply.

The projects will leverage the efficiency and expertise of private sector in delivering innovative solutions and will be developed in partnership with private players on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The scope of work will include design, engineering, procurement, erection (including civil and structural works), installation, testing and commissioning of the grid-connected rooftop solar PV systems including operation and maintenance (O&M) of the systems for a period of 25 years after project commissioning.

In order to ensure level playing field, a Model Power Purchase Agreement (MPPA) for Rooftop Solar Projects on Indian Railways has been developed and put in the public domain (see attached document available below for further details). The project on completion will give financial benefits to Indian Railways by reducing expenditure on the energy bill and would help in India's climate change mitigation effort.

Results

The installation of solar rooftop will help Indian Railways (IR) in many meaningful ways. Firstly, it will help reduce peak electricity load of IR. Electricity needed to meet peak demand is normally charged at higher tariff rate. The reduction in electricity need at peak time would help reduce financial outgo on power purchase. Secondly, shifting to renewable power, will help meet India's climate change mitigation target agreed during COP 21. Thirdly, it will help development of Indian solar industries and would create green employment opportunity. Lastly, it will demonstrate financial viability of rooftop solar power project and motivate other public and private sectors to adopt similar projects.

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) For Rooftop Solar Projects on Indian Railways