Bina: In a step towards curbing pollution, Indian Railways has set up a 1.7 megawatt solar power plant in Madhya Pradesh's Bina. The energy generated from the power plant will be used to run trains.
Indian Railways will commission the 1.7 MW solar Power plant in next 15 days which will save Rs 1.37 crore annually. The pilot project is under extensive testing and trial.
The 1.7 megawatt solar power plant has been set up as a pilot project by Railways in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) on Railway land near the tracks in Bina. The plant will have stepped up voltage of 25,000 volts through transformers to be fed to the overhead power lines of the Railways to power the traction system of the locomotives. The feed from the plant has been synchronised with the 25kV Railway Overhead Line.
The foundation for the Bina solar power plan project was laid in November last year, and testing on the solar plant started last month after completion of its set up. The complete design of the plant has been done by BHEL in consultation with railway engineers.
Indian Railway is working on several such projects utilising vacant land for setting up solar power plan all across India.
This step will is taken under Indian Railways target to transform itself as 'Net Zero' Carbon Emission Mass Transportation Network by 2030.
The use of solar energy in its operations will make Indian Railways the first transport organization to be energy self-sufficient.
Indian Railways is also adopting an innovative concept of installation of solar projects along operational railway lines which will help in preventing encroachment, enhancing the speed and safety of trains and reduction of infrastructure costs due to direct injection of solar power into the traction network.
