Indian Railways Speeds Up Solar Installs, Lags Broader Targets

Indian Railways has so far installed about 209 MW of solar plants on 2,249 Railway stations and service buildings across the country . The Indian Railways Solar Power expansion reached 2,249 installations units with 1489 added in the last five years, 2.3 times more than 628 in the previous five years. Rajasthan Leads in Solar Power Expansion with the Highest 275 Installations Units Among All States and UTs

Based on the state-wise and year-wise details shared by the Union Minister, five states have installed maximum renewable energy cumulative up to February 2025 capacities in railways, which includes, Rajasthan (275), and Maharashtra (270), they combined to solarise a cumulative 545 railway stations using rooftop solar.

West Bengal (237), Uttar Pradesh (204), and Andhra Pradesh (198) were the other states in the top 5. Up till 2014-15 to 2019-20, 628 Railway Stations were provided with Solar Plants spread across 28 Indian states. Whereas in 2020-21 to February 2025 the number of stations with solar plans rose to 1,489.

Green Energy- The Success Story That Wasn’t 

The recent surge in renewable energy installation notwithstanding, the railways have actually been a notable failure among government backed firms when it comes to solar and green energy targets broadly. From a target of 1000 MW by 2021 (still not achieved) to 10,000 MW by 2030, the national transporter has struggled to get going on its major renewable initiatives. Challenges like regulatory constraints, power evacuation and connectivity issues have delayed the railways. The 500 MW solar target for 2021 still stands missed.

With at least its 100% electrification plan proceeding speedily, the railways needs to step up the game for procurement of renewable energy as well, including ways to better utilise the vast land at its disposal. A recent focus has been on signing up PPAs for Round the clock (RTC) green electricity accordingly.  So far, it has secured 4,260 MW of installed solar capacity and 3,427 MW of installed wind capacity from developers, with a significant part to start later next year.

Indian Railway’s has reportedly got 51,000 hectares of land, with the potential for installing 20 GW land based solar plants. The Solar power so generated was to be fed to Central / State Grid or directly to 25 kV AC traction system.  Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL), a Joint Venture Company of Indian Railways (49 % Equity) and RITES Limited (51 % Equity), has been mandated for proliferation of taking up land based project, but has struggled to find takers for its large tenders, even as it has built up a small portfolio of green energy projects, almost 12 years after it was set up in 2013.