Railways to Source 1GW Solar, 100MW Wind By 2021-22: Piyush Goyal

In a bid to go green, Indian Railways has planned to source about 1 GW (1,000 MW) of solar energy and approx. 200 MW of wind energy progressively by 2021-22, said Piyush Goyal.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, this information was provided by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry.

Already, Indian Railways has set up 201 MW, including 98 MW from solar energy and 103 MW from wind power, till October 31, 2019, he further added.

In order to green leap forward, Goyal also said in a tweet that, “Railways deploys an environment-friendly and energy-efficient ‘Head on Generation’ technology in electric locomotives, which replaces diesel generators and results in huge savings in operational cost.”

Some of the benefits of ‘Head on Generation’ technology includes – it is eco-friendly, energy-efficient, can replace diesel generators, and huge money will also be saved in operational costs.

In November last week, the Minister also said that a target has been set for full electrification of Indian railways within the next three to four years.

He tweeted that “Railways is continuously increasing electrification for a better, pollution-free future. The target of electrification of the entire railway in the next 3-4 years has been set, making it the world’s first carbon emission-free railway, along with that the railways are producing solar energy for their power needs.”

Earlier, Railway Minister Goyal had said that Indian Railways will become the world’s first “net-zero” carbon emitter by 2030.

“By 2030, we are working to make the Indian railways the world’s first net-zero railway. The Government is phasing out the old coal plants, which is going to help reduce environmental pollution, and will also create the demand for new plants and spur the investment cycle,” he had said while speaking at third India Energy Forum CERAWeek 2019 last month.