Adoption of Renewable Energy Technologies in Indian Railways: A Case Study of Two Workshops

An expert group on modernization of Indian Railways (IR) has suggested significant investments in renewable energy projects like solar and wind through Private–Public Participation (PPP) initiative and in energy-saving and captive power generation projects owing to insatiable demand for power. Renewable energy assumes significance due to dwindling fossil fuels and environmental benefits associated with it. With this backdrop, a study at two coach repair workshops was undertaken to ascertain the consumption of various forms of energy and the areas where renewable energy technologies could be deployed. The study shows that IR had taken lead to implement renewable energy technologies in various forms—solar photovoltaic’s for illumination, solar thermal units for hot water. IR is also planning offsite wind power plants to meet all the energy requirements of workshops. These efforts should improve the share of renewables over Indian Railways in future.