The Hindu Business Line : Rlys to invest Rs 70 cr in Gujarat wind farm

The Railways’ investments in the wind energy sector are on the upswing. After setting up wind farms in Tamil Nadu, it is considering to set up a 10.5-MW wind farm in Saurashtra region of Gujarat with an investment of Rs 70 crore.

The Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, Mr S.S. Gutpa, told Business Line that Western Railways is planning to set upseven wind turbines of 1.5 MW capacity at the wind farm, which would be operational by the end of fiscal 2009-2010.

The investment could be scaled up and turbines of about 100 MW could be set up across various locations in the zone, he said.

Power procurement

Indian Railways spends about Rs 5,500 crore annually for electricity procurement.

“We want to save on per unit cost of power; therefore, we are keen to invest in green energy. We buy power from various electricity boards at about Rs 5.5/ unit and from wind energy we would be able to generate power at Rs 3.5/ unit; therefore, it makes economic sense for the Western Railway to invest in wind energy,” Mr Gupta said.

Grid connection

According to Mr Rohit Modi, President (India Business Unit), Suzlon Energy Ltd, “Wind farms set up by the Railways are connected to the State grid and the generated power is supplied to the grid. The equivalent power is drawn by the Railways from the grid by paying wheeling charge” he said.

More Stories on : Railways | Non-conventional Energy | Gujarat

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Rlys to invest Rs 70 cr in Gujarat wind farm