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<p>According to a recent report published by <a href="https://climatetrends.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Trends </a>and <a href="https://www.ridingsunbeams.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Riding Sunbeams, </a>one in four trains of the <a href="https://indianrailways.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Railways</a> could be powered by solar power.</p>
<p>Indian Railways is one of India&#8217;s largest power consumers and third-largest diesel users, consuming 17,862 TWh of power and 2,749 billion liters of diesel in 2018-19, accounting for 4% of the country&#8217;s total greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>In 2018, the government approved plans to electrify 100% of railways by 2023. As of March 2021, around 71% of the country&#8217;s railways are electrified. Of this, over 6,000 kilometers of railway tracks were electrified in 2020-21. The complete electrification of Indian Railways could save ₹130 billion (~1.8 billion) in fuel bills annually.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-indian-railways/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the entire Indian rail network would be fully electrified by 2023 and run on renewable energy by 2030.</p>
<p>However, the researchers warned that achieving complete electrification by 2023 would initially increase carbon dioxide emissions by 32% because India relies on coal to produce power.</p>
<p>According to the report, solar projects installed along electrified railway tracks could replace roughly 4 GW of coal-fired electricity and save 20% of Indian Railways&#8217; annual power bills in the first year and 40% thereafter.</p>
<p>Apart from that, regulatory support for procurement through the open access mechanism could also reduce power procurement costs and save around ₹410 billion (~$5.57 billion) over the decade. Besides, the Indian Railways has plans to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/indian-railways-solar-projects-vacant-lands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">install</a> 20 GW of solar capacity for traction and non-traction loads to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.</p>
<p>Two electricity demand profiles (load profiles) were considered. The flat profile assumed the traction demand was constant every day of the year between the hours of 04:00 and 23:00. The commuter profile assumed a morning and evening peak, as observed on traction networks in the UK.</p>
<p>The report stated that 5.72 GW of solar energy could be connected to Indian Railways&#8217; flat profile and 3.33 GW for the commute profile. The 5.72 GW solar capacity could generate 8.29 GWh of energy and satisfy around 28% power demand of the flat profile.</p>
<p>While the 3.33 GW solar capacity is expected to generate 5.25 GWh of energy and meet the 18% energy needs of the commute profile. In addition, this would also help the Indian Railways reduce 6.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.</p>
<p>The power required to move the trains in a railway network is known as traction load. If Indian Railways could connect 20 GW of solar projects to directly supply traction demand, around 49% of traction demand could be satisfied at a 47% solar utilization for the flat profile. Meanwhile, 45% traction demand could be met at a 43% solar utilization for the commuter profile.</p>
<p>Connecting these solar projects with battery storage systems could enhance solar utilization and satisfy higher traction demands.</p>
<p>In December last year, the Railway Energy Management Company invited bids for a pilot project to procure renewable energy power for the long term from grid-connected solar power projects with energy storage systems. Based on this pilot storage project&#8217;s success, Indian Railways would scale up storage-based projects across the railway network to achieve its target of &#8216;net zero&#8217; carbon emissions organization by 2030.</p>
<p>According to the report, Indian Railways will save ₹170 billion (~$2.3 billion) in fuel costs and other savings by attaining net-zero emissions by 2030. Its low-carbon growth strategy can also help India achieve its 2030 emission reduction targets.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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Solar Energy Could Power Over 25% Trains of Indian Railways: Report

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