Solar power plants planned at 10 railway stations in Tiruchi Division to harness green energy

The Tiruchi Railway Division has planned to tap solar power at 10 railway stations falling under its jurisdiction as an eco-friendly measure to take care of its energy requirements and to cut down on power bills in the long run. The plan is to harness green energy by installing solar power plants at the chosen 10 stations: Chidambaram, Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Thiruthuraipoondi, Mannargudi, Vellore, Srirangam and Tiruvannamalai.

The Tiruchi Railway Division has planned to tap solar power at 10 railway stations falling under its jurisdiction as an eco-friendly measure to take care of its energy requirements and to cut down on power bills in the long run. The plan is to harness green energy by installing solar power plants at the chosen 10 stations: Chidambaram, Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Thiruthuraipoondi, Mannargudi, Vellore, Srirangam and Tiruvannamalai.

The divisional railway authorities set the process in motion recently by floating a tender for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the solar power plants with 10 KWp capacity each at the 10 identified stations.  Railway sources said solar panels are to be installed on the rooftop of the platform shelters at these stations to harness solar power. The tentative cost of the installation would be ₹45 lakh.

While Srirangam and Ariyalur stations come under the Tiruchi - Villupuram chord line section, Chidambaram and Cuddalore falls on the Thanjavur- Villupuram mainline section. The sources said solar power plants would be connected to the on-grid system. Once commissioned, the solar plants at the 10 stations were expected to combinedly generate 12,000 units per month and the savings for the railways would be around ₹one lakh per month. 

Solar power panels have already been installed at various locations in the Southern Railway network including at the Divisional Railway Manager’s office at Tiruchi, Chief Workshop Manager’s office at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop in Tiruchi besides at some stations to take care of energy requirements.