ABB, a global solar inverter supplier, in partnership with Azure Power will be providing solar inverters to support rooftop solar systems installations in 750 railway stations in the northern part of India.

The solar inverters for this project will vary between 5 kW to 50 kW.

Azure Power, in March 2017, had won bids to develop rooftop solar projects totaling 46 MW, for the Indian Railways spread across 11 states of India. These projects were awarded under the jurisdiction of Northern Railways, Western Railways, North-Central Railways and North-Western Railways.

“We are pleased to partner with ABB and Indian Railways in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through deployment of solar energy at railway stations across India” said Inderpreet S Wadhwa, Chairman and CEO, Azure Power.

“We are privileged to partner with Azure Power to support the renewable energy drive of Indian Railways. ABB has been an integral technology partner for railways for decades, providing technology from turbochargers to substations,” said Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director, ABB India.

According to Mercom India’s Q2 2017 India Solar Quarterly Market Update, as of June 2017, ABB was the top inverter supplier. ABB India’s closest competitors are SMA and TMEIC. Recently, ABB India surpassed the 5 GW milestone for the supply of solar inverters in India.

Indian Railways is targeting 1 GW of solar, out of which over 36 MW have been installed. The Indian Railways operates over 8,000 railway stations across India, and the demand of clean energy to fuel operations has created a niche market for rooftop developers and solar inverter suppliers to work in tandem.

Image credit: ABB