The Southern Railway is tapping wind and solar energy by installing 107 MWp solar power plants initially.
The zone intends to increase solar power generation in coming years. It proposes to provide rooftop solar plants of 2.69 MWp under developer mode by solar power developers at Perambur and Golden Rock workshops in Tamil Nadu.
The solar plants on vacant railway land will be installed with a capacity of around 67 MWp, while 40 MWp will be set up along the track under PPA mode.
For this purpose, the Southern Railway has identified 300 acre of vacant land and 160 acre of land alongside the track. Tender has been floated by the Railway Energy Management Company (REMCL) for around 67 MWp land-based solar plants and bidders are doing survey. Tender for 40 MWp on land alongside the track is expected to be floated by REMCL shortly.
With focus on harnessing wind energy, windmill plants have been erected at Kayathar (near Gangai Kondan/Kadambur railway stations) in Tuticorin district under Madurai division of the Southern Railway.
With the vision of becoming ‘Green mode of transport’, the zone is expediting its electrification projects and thus reducing carbon emission. A total of 270 route km of electrified lines are targeted for completion in FY21.
The total capacity of solar power plants installed by the Southern Railway is 4.74 MWp. A 3.985 MWp solar plant was installed under PPA mode and 0.755 MW was installed departmentally.
Solar power panels have been installed at various locations and railway stations such as Dr MGR Central Central, MMC complex, Katpadi, Tambaram EMU car shed, Mambalam, Guindy and Chengalpattu suburban stations, Divisional Railway Managers’ Offices at Tiruchchirappalli and Madurai.
Chief Workshop Manager’s Office at Trichy Golden Rock Workshop, at Level Crossing Gates in Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram section, Signal and Telecom Workshop at Podanur, Salem Jn, Namakkal, Tiruppur, Sivakasi, to mention a few.
