The Indian Railways wants to set up 740 MW grid connected solar power capacity on its vacant land and select a developer through competitive bidding. On its behalf, Railway Energy Management Co. Ltd. (REMCL) has launched a request for selection (RFS) round.

The ground mounted land based solar plant will generate power to be injected into the CTU/STU substation under 25-year power purchase agreements (PPA) to be signed with respective nodal Zonal Railway that will also be responsible for day-to-day coordination during solar power plants construction.

Projects with an aggregate capacity of 740 MW will be established on build-own-operate (BOO) basis on proposed land parcels, divided into various packages.

Cells and modules to be deployed for the project needs to be sourced from models and manufacturers in the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

Launched on June 4, 2021, the tender documents specify August 26, 2021 as the last date to submit bids. Tender details will be available on Government of India’s https://www.bharat-electronictender.com website.

The 740 MW capacity tendered is part of the Indian Railways’ overarching goal to implement 20 GW solar PV power plant capacity on its vacant land parcels by 2030 in order to achieve net zero carbon emitting railway operations (see 20 GW Solar Power For Indian Railways By 2030).

A joint venture between the Indian Railways  and government owned transport and engineering consultant RITES Ltd., REMCL is tasked with getting 3 GW solar power capacity installed for the Indian Railways through tenders (see REMCL To Manage 3 GW Solar For Indian Railways).