KALCHINI

Indian Railway is striving hard to achieve the target of zero carbon emission by 2030. In an endeavour to minimize dependence o­n fossil fuels, the Northeast Frontier Railway is taking steps to generate green energy more and more by installing solar power plants across the zone. In a step forward to achieve the target of zero carbon emission, Roof-Top Solar power plants have been commissioned throughout the Northeast Frontier Railway generating 4358.233 Kilo Watt Peak (kwp) till March, 2022. This will, in turn, save 44.54 lakh units that amounts to approximately Rs 3.56 crore annually in energy bills.

N. F. Railway step towards its ‘Go-Green’ mission successfully commissioned 585 kwp of solar roof top systems in various stations and other service buildings during the last financial year. Out of 585 kwp, 195 kwp capacity is being commissioned in Lumding station, 100 kwp in Dimapur station and 120 kwp in Kamakhya Coaching Depot under Lumding division. Similarly, 100 kwp capacity is being commissioned in Rangiya station and 10 kwp each in Viswanath Chariali station and Kendriya Vidyalaya/Rangiya under Rangiya division. Further in Alipurduar division, 20 kwp capacity is being commissioned in Dalgaon station and 10 kwp each in Kalchini station, Dhubri station and Salakati station.

In the current financial year, to meet the energy requirements, NFR is all set to commission 1500 kwp capacity of solar roof top systems in its jurisdiction. These include 100 kwp in Silchar station, 200 kwp each in Guwahati station and Kamakhya station under Lumding divison. Apart from all this, 1000 kwp is planned to be commissioned in New Bongaigaon Workshop which is a major workshop under NFR.

During the time when energy prices have taken a sharp hit due to the o­ngoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, NFR is committed to utilize solar energy for meeting its energy requirements which will help in meeting power needs of all the stations and save precious expenditure for the Railways and the country apart from being environment friendly.