Guwahati; known as the ‘Gateway of the North-East’ became the first railway station in India to go fully on solar energy. Earlier, stations like Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Jaipur have adopted solar and wind energy technologies as green energy initiative. Guwahati went one step ahead by going 100% on solar power.
The station has daily footfall of more than 40,000 passengers. Solar powered areas include station platforms, the coach depot and railway colony area.
About the Project
A 700 kWp i.e. 0.7 MWp of grid-connected rooftop solar panels have been installed on platform and control building rooftops. There are total 2352 modules and 28 Fronius make inverters in the the project. The solar-powered railway station initiative is part of the Indian Railways’ broader plans to put up 5 GW of solar power capacity to meet around 25% of its energy needs through renewable energy by 2025. You can get more details about the installation the video. The video is published by REN- EN- GEN Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Indian Railways will save Rs. 67.7 Lakhs annually through this project. The total cost of the project, as per Indian Railways estimates, is approximately Rs 6.7 crore. The state-run engineering company Central Electronics executed the project under the funding of Container Corporation of India (CONOR), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways.
Turning the station into a solar-powered one is quite the benchmark for other green stations in the country. Let’s hope for some similar news in the near future by Indian Railways.
