On January 9, 2020 the Nandyal-Yerraguntla section in Guntakal Division of Andhra Pradesh has been declared as the first solar section in South Central Railway. In 2016 August Indian Railways opened Nandyal-Yerraguntla section in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.
Key Points:
i.All the 8 stations in the Nandyal-Yerraguntla section namely Madduru, Banaganapalle, Koilakuntla, Sanjamala, Nossam, S.Uppalapadu, Jammalamadugu and Proddutur has been provided with solar panels which are capable of meeting all the power needs in these railway stations.
ii.Total of 152 Solar panels were installed in these stations. The stations are equipped with 37 kWp (Kilowatt Power) off Grid Rooftop Solar plants along with 250/125 Wp (Watt power) solar panels along with inverters and 12V 150 AH battery banks were installed. The total connected load on Solar Plants is on average 30 KWp.
iii.148 KWh (Kilowatt hour) energy units can be generated with an average of 8 sunny hours a day which results in energy generation of 54,020 units throughout the year.
iv.Anticipated savings in terms of revenue is around Rs 5 lakh per annum and it also helps in reducing carbon footprint to the tune of 49 metric tonnes per annum.
v.16 stations have already been declared Green Railway stations across Indian Railways, which are meeting energy needs completely either through solar or wind power.
vi.By 2021-22 ,Indian Railways has planned to source about 1000 MegaWatt (MW) Solar Power and about 200 MW of wind power across Zonal Railways & Production Units. Out of which 500 MegaWatt (MW) solar plants are to be installed on the rooftop of Railway buildings.
About Indian Railways:
Founded- April 16, 1853
Headquarters- New Delhi
Ministry of Railway- Piyush Goyal
Chairman of Railway Board- Vinod Kumar Yadav
