Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said the Centre is mulling to set up solar thermal plants on land parcels owned by Railways in order to increase the usage of renewable energy.
"There is a need to work towards reducing carbon emissions. We cannot continue to depend on the traditional sources of energy like coal if we have to reduce carbon emission. We will have to find innovative ways, use technology and processes that can reduce these emissions," the minister said at an event organised by CII on Tuesday. Prabhu said since Railways is the highest consumer of electricity, the ministry is taking various steps to increase usage of solar power to meet its needs.
"We have already initiated the process of using rooftop of railway buildings for generating solar power. We have also taken innovative initiatives for harnessing solar energy by putting solar panels on the roof of railway coaches," he said.