Direct green power instead of grid-fed could help railways more: Study

 According to the study, around a quarter of this new solar capacity - up to 5,272 MW - could be fed directly into the railway's overhead lines

A new study by an Indian NGO Climate Trends and UK-based green-tech start-up Riding Sunbeams has found that direct supply of solar energy to the Indian Railway lines would save almost 7 million tonnes (mt) of carbon a year whilst also powering at least one in four trains on the national network on competitive terms.

The railways plan to earmark 51,000 hectares of unproductive land for solar development as part of its net-zero commitment by 2030. Plans are already underway to deliver 20GW of solar generation to match the growing demand for energy to move trains. The analysis said around a quarter of this new solar capacity - up to 5,272 MW - could be fed directly into the railway’s overhead lines instead of being procured over the electricity networks or grid, reducing energy losses and saving money for the rail operator.

According to the study, around a quarter of this new solar capacity - up to 5,272 MW - could be fed directly into the railway’s overhead lines instead of being procured over the electricity networks, reducing energy losses and saving money for the rail operator. The researchers found that substituting energy supplied from the coal-dominated grid for private-wire supply from solar could also rapidly cut emissions by as much as 6.8 mt CO2 annually- just over the entire annual emissions of the city of Kanpur.

The Railways plans to install 20 GW of solar for both traction (for the running of trains) and non-traction loads as part of its plan to reach net-zero by 2030. It formed a joint venture Railway Energy Management Company to support the development of solar PV and wind energy projects to supply the railway’s energy needs.