Indian Railways to add 30 MW of additional rooftop solar

October 4 (Renewables Now) – Indian firms Azure Power (NYSE:AZRE) and Fourth Partner Energy have secured contracts to install 30 MW of rooftop solar power facilities for Indian Railways. Under the deals, awarded last week, solar power producer Azure Power will install 20 MW of photovoltaic (PV) panels for the railway operator, while Fourth Partner Energy will be in charge of building a 10-MW plant, the two firms said separately last week. The larger project will involve the construction of rooftop solar systems at Indian Railways facilities across 17 states and union territories and sale of electricity for 25 years. The generated power will be sold at a tariff ranging between INR 3.64 (USD 0.056/EUR 0.047) per kWh and INR 4.49 per kWh depending on the location.

Azure Power said it will get a capital incentive from Indian Railways that is expected to result in a weighted average levelized tariff of INR 4.88 per kWh. Following the deal, Azure Power will become the largest solar power supplier to Indian Railways with a cumulative awarded capacity of 66 MW. Earlier this year, the New Delhi-based company was selected as the winning bidder to develop 46 MW of rooftop solar projects for the railway operator. In the meantime, renewable energy services provider Fourth Partner Energy will install 10 MW of rooftop PV plants at Indian Railway’s facilities in Varanasi, Jabalpur and Gorakhpur. According to consultancy Mercom India Research, the demand for renewables to power activities on the Indian Ministry of Railways has led to the approval of incentives for 500 MW of solar projects and provision of around INR 6 billion in funds for grid‑connected rooftop solar facilities.