Indian Railways, one of the biggest consumers of energy, is moving towards harnessing green power with a 26 MW windmill proposed to be built in Rajasthan.
The project, the biggest renewable energy initiative by the national transporter, is to be set up in Jaisalmer at a cost of Rs 150 crore and targeted to be completed in about nine months.
"We have to explore new and renewable sources of energ for our energy basket," Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said while announcing the project.
He pointed out that the Railways is one of the biggest consumers of energy and therefore, using even a small percentage of green energy by the national transporter, will make a substantial difference.
"Sustainability of environment is one of the biggest challenges being experienced by human being and the entire globe is struggling to find its solution. Harnessing green energy is one of the steps forward to address this challenge," he said.
He was speaking while launching the windmill farm meant for generating electricity for the captive consumption of railways. It is being set-up by Railway Renewable Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL), a joint venture of Railways and it's subsidiary RITES. The contract for this project was awarded by REMCL to INOX Wind Limited.
Prabhu said there is a need to change the energy mix so that long term dependence on fossil fuel can be reduced.
He asked the Railways to undertake a comprehensive and structured energy audit so as to ensure the best and optimal utilization of energy and also identify the energy saving potential.
Earlier, railways had established its first windmill plant of 10.5 MW capacity at a cost of about Rs 65 crore in Tamil Nadu in 2009. It has generated over 120 million units of electricity since its commission.
"We should harness solar energy also in a big way and design our stations and buildings in such a way that their local electricity needs can be met through solar system.
"In fact, all such new structures should have inherent provision for harnessing solar energy for their day-to-day needs," the Railway Minister said, while noting that deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat can be a good source of exploiting the solar energy.
He also pushed for a sustained effort to intensify energy conservation measures.
The electricity generated from such windmill plants will be purchased by Railways at CERC determined rates. The current tariff from windmill has been estimated to be Rs 6 per unit as against the average tariff of Rs 6.57 per unit.
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