State-owned Indian Railways has announced that it is set to expand its agreement with Indian solar energy company Azure Power to extend the ‘electrification’ of the country’s railways. The government-controlled public transportation firm has agreed a deal with Azure Power to introduce an additional 20 MWs of solar rooftop projects.
The agreement will mean that Azure Roof Power will now be tasked with the responsibility of providing power to Indian Railway facilities across 17 different states and union territories for the next quarter of a century.
In addition to this, the new order of 20 MWs placed has resulted in making the independent power producer which was founded in 2008 – the largest supplier of solar power to Indian Railways with a cumulative awarded capacity of over 66MWs which also includes the 46MWs of capacity won earlier this year.
CEO and Chairman of Azure Power, Inderpreet Wadhwa expressed his delight at the contract expansion and said the firm was committed to ensuring India becomes a leading nation in producing ‘clean energy’. He said: “We are pleased to expand our Azure Roof Power platform with Indian Railways. With this win, we have once again demonstrated our strong project development capabilities and are delighted to make this contribution towards realization of our honorable prime minister’s commitment towards clean and green energy, through solar power generation.”
Azure Power which is headquartered in New Delhi has enjoyed success since forming in 2008 – and supplies power solution alternatives for commercial, industrial and government customers across cities in India. Its commitment to solar energy has ensured the organization boasts one of the largest rooftop portfolios in the country.
It has been disclosed that the majority of the contracts awarded to Azure Power have been through government of India backed entities. It has developed, constructed and operated solar projects of varying sizes, from utility scale to rooftop, since its inception in 2008. Some of the highlights include the construction of India’s first private utility scale solar PV power plant in 2009 and the implementation of the first MW scale rooftop project under the smart city initiative in 2013.
