WindStream Technologies Launches Pilot SolarMill(R) Technology fo Railways

WindStream Technologies, Inc. has announced that it has been commissioned by the Ministry of Railways for a pilot project to install the Company's SolarMills on the buildings of C-TARA (Centralized Training Academy For Railway Accounts), South Central Railway, Ministry of Railways, India.

WindStream expects that if the pilot program is successful, it will be granted the contract to retrofit as many as 700 possible railway stations that are in line for the Ministry's modernization and energy makeover.

This was a response to a Request for Proposal for a renewable energy device, which when placed on a rooftop would offset a portion of the energy use. WindStream was awarded the opportunity to pilot its SolarMill® technology as a means of meeting this requirement, using the technology to offset the power consumption on railway stations.

Dan Bates, President of WindStream, said, "We believe our Company has a strong future in India and in the surrounding region. We are constructing a 50,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility outside of Hyderabad, India. We expect that SolarMill® products will be available from this new factory in the second quarter of 2015 and the facility will focus on servicing the Indian market to start."

The Indian facility has received its first container of 80 complete SolarMills, and a second container of 200 units' worth of component parts is scheduled to arrive the beginning of April, from which finished products will be assembled and sold. An additional 80 completed units, as well as components for an additional 300 units, were shipped in March and are bound for India. The Company will send 500 units of component parts each month hereafter, beginning in April.

The Indian Government, through the Ministry of Railroads, has begun an effort to retrofit railway stations with renewable energy generation as well as energy efficiency makeovers all over the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for implementation of renewable energy generation on railway stations by 2019 in the hope of offsetting some of the country's growing electric needs as well as generating energy from clean sources. Capacity for 10MW at 500 railways stations, 4000 Level Crossing gates, and other rooftops and buildings is currently underway while the Minister of Railways also announced plans to provide an additional 10MW of solar capacity at approximately 200 stations including C-TARA, 26 buildings, and 2000 LC gates.

"This pilot will not only showcase the effective use of the SolarMill® product in India for its railway stations, but will be a marquee installation that other businesses and economic sectors will see and can replicate as we begin to introduce our products in India," said Venkat Kumar Tangirala, President of WindStream S. Asia.

In the recent meetings between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Modi, "Modi asserted that clean and renewable energy is a 'personal and national priority' for both the nations." The Modi Government has pledged to add 1KW of power to 400 million homes over the next 5 years.