Railways to light up stations with solar power

Two stations under North Western Railway (NWR) will be lit using solar energy, an official said on Tuesday.

Abu Road and Bhilwara stations in Rajasthan will be provided solar plants as part of the NWR plan to increase the use of environment-friendly sources of energy, an official release said.

The railway said its Ajmer division has entered in a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) to set up the solar plants at the two stations.

"Funding of the solar project will be done by CONCOR under CSR (corporate social responsibility) programme and solar plant will be set up by the Ajmer division," the railway said.

Under the MoU, CONCOR will provide Rs.1 crore to the NWR to set up two 40 KWP (kilo watt power) solar plants at both stations. Solar plants have already been installed and are working at Ajmer and Udaipur railway stations.

"The energy generated from it (solar power plants) will provide continuous power supply to platforms and the offices situated at the stations," the statement said.

It is expected that the plants at both the stations will produce 150,000 units per year and the railway will save Rs.10.5 lakh per year.

The estimated life of the project is 25 years with an expected savings of more than Rs.2.5 crore.