As part of Southern Railway’s initiative to go GREEN, rooftop solar plants with a total installed capacity of 390 kilowatt peak (kWp) will be set up at seven stations in Palakkad division — Kozhikode, Mangalore Central, Kannur, Palakkad, Shoranur, Mangalore Junction and Thalassery — and four plants with a total capacity of 300 kWp in Thiruvananthapuram division — Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Nagercoil and Thrissur.
Currently, the Railways pays a tariff of `8.10 per unit to the KSEB. Once the solar plant is operational the Railways will need to pay only `3.64 per unit for 25 years as per the deal agreed with Azure Power Rooftop Solutions Pvt Ltd. Under the deal 4 MW of solar power, rooftop solar plants will be installed at 11 stations in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram railway divisions.
The cost of installing a 10 kWp plant is `7.3 lakh. In Palakkad, a 10 kWp plant at the divisional railway manager’s office and two 10 kWp plants at the Divisional Railway Hospital are already producing power. Similarly, a 10 kWp plant has been commissioned at the office of the divisional railway manager in Thiruvananthapuram also.
Central Electronics Ltd, which is the implementing agency for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, had floated tenders to install, operate and maintain the solar plants and Azure is the winner.