Indian Railways partners with Central Railways for green power procurement

According to an official notification, the Railway Board has designated Central Railway as the Nodal Railway responsible for executing a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with M/s NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. This agreement will secure a 500 MW power supply for the railway network. Central Railway is currently in the final stages of negotiating the PPA with NREL, and the plant is expected to commence operations within the next two years. This groundbreaking contract marks a significant milestone for Indian Railways and represents a major step towards their objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

The state of Maharashtra alone requires a peak traction power of approximately 450 MW, which encompasses the traction substations of Central Railway (CR), Western Railway (WR), South Central Railway (SCR), Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), and South East Central Railway (SECR). Currently, a significant portion of this power requirement is met through thermal power sources, with Central Railway having secured 300 MW. The remaining power is obtained from a 56 MW wind plant and purchased from the Indian Energy Exchange.

To address this energy demand sustainably, Indian Railways has awarded a contract to M/s NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) to establish Grid-Connected Renewable Energy (RE) Power Projects. The objective is to provide a continuous supply of 500 MW renewable power to the railways for a duration of 25 years at a rate of Rs. 4.12 per unit.

As stated in the announcement, out of the 500 MW capacity, 205 MW has been allocated for railway traction supply in Maharashtra, while the remaining power will be supplied to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The project will encompass both solar and wind components. The solar PV component of 650 MW is planned to be set up at Khavda, Kutch, Gujarat, and the wind power component of 1050 MW, with 350 MW each, is planned at Bhuj-Gujarat, Dwarka-Gujarat, and Koppal-Karnataka.

Contracts for the project have been awarded to various entities, including Green Infra Wind Energy Ltd. in Karnataka for 50 MW of wind power, Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd (RUMS) for 61 MW of solar power, and IRCON Renewable Power Ltd (IRPL) for 180 MW of solar power. These collaborations are vital steps towards realising a greener and more sustainable future for Indian Railways.