Titagarh to replace 25 pc of power demand with clean energy
Sep 10, 2020
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 10 : India's largest private sector manufacturer of passenger and freight trains Titagarh Wagons Ltd on Thursday announced the signing of a power purchase agreement with Fourth Partner Energy to procure 4.8 megawatts of solar power for its wagon and steel foundries at Titagarh and passenger coach and propulsion unit at Uttarpara.
This will effectively replace about 25 per cent of its current annual electricity demand with clean energy. All three power plants are expected to be commissioned by January 2021.
Vice President at Titagarh Prithish Chowdhary said reducing carbon emissions and switching to green energy is no longer an option but a global imperative.
"Apart from a significant reduction in our carbon footprint, solar power is also cheaper than grid electricity and is a valuable commercial proposition for manufacturing firms that are energy-intensive. We expect to see substantial saving in our annual power costs through the use of solar energy," he said.
Titagarh's procurement of clean electricity is also in-line with the government's vision of net-zero carbon emission in Indian Railways by 2030. Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal recently announced the solarisation of 960 stations and the government's plan to procure 33 billion units of clean electricity by 2030.
Karan Chadha, Head of business development at Fourth Partner Energy, said corporate India plays a pivotal role in energy transition and it is encouraging to see companies like Titagarh lead the change.
"Through these three installations spread over 48,000 square metres of available roof space, Titagarh will offset over 1.3 lakh tonnes of carbon over the next two decades apart from saving costs on every unit of power procured. Our aim is to enable businesses to similarly achieve their low-carbon goals in a cost-effective manner," he said.
Fourth Partner Energy has also partnered with Indian Railways to solarise Jabalpur, Varanasi, Gorakhpur stations and the Nagpur Metro Rail.
