The Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL), a joint venture of Indian Railways and RITES Limited, has invited bids for setting up of 2 MW of solar projects along the Delhi-Ambala railway track. The projects, which will be located near Diwana station, will follow a tariff-based competitive bidding.

The successful bidder will sign power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Northern Railways for a period of 25 years.

The last date for submission of bids is January 28, 2019.

To be eligible to bid for the project, the net worth of the bidder should be equal to or greater than the ₹10.7 million (~$0.15 million) per MW of the project capacity as on the last date of financial year 2017-18.

Earlier, REMCL had also invited bids for a 50 MW solar project on railways land at Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.

Mercom reported previously that Indian Railways is continuing its efforts to add solar for its electricity requirements. Railways is the single largest consumer of electricity in the country, with roughly 2 percent share of national energy consumption.

Moreover, Indian Railways has announced that it is planning to become a net-zero carbon emitter by 2030 and is working tirelessly on all fronts to reduce its carbon footprint. The infrastructure as well as the space available to the Indian Railways has opened avenues for the development of rooftop and ground-mount solar projects that can be utilized to address its increasing energy needs.

In June 2018, it was reported that Indian Railways is gradually turning towards green initiatives for electrification as well as decarbonization. Solar panels at rooftops of 78 railway stations across Kerala have been planned based on feasibility at the stations

Mercom previously reported that the Indian Railways had announced it will soon launch tenders to set up large-scale solar power projects, inching closer towards its overall solar power target of 5 GW. The 5 GW capacity will consist of utility-scale and rooftop solar power projects.