Indian Oil Opens India’s First 24×7 Solar-Powered Fuel Outlet

The country’s first completely solar-powered fuel pump was inaugurated in Kochi recently by the Indian Oil Corporation. A big boost for the renewable agendas of both the state-run oil and gas company and the state of Kerala.

IOCL Chairman Sanjiv Singh inaugurated the first pump in an event that was also attended by PS Mony, State Head & Chief General Manager, IOCL, Kerala. Singh during the press event also declared that Kerala is now the first state in India where all IOCL operational retail outlets are fully automated. He further commented that automation is extremely important especially in today’s competitive scenario. It is a win-win proposition with a customer, dealer and the company all benefiting from it.

“Automation ensures quality and builds the faith of the customer. Besides, it gives deep insights into the company into customer behaviour through data analytics. It also helps the dealer in stock reconciliation on a real-time basis,” he said.

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The outlet chosen to be first converted to a fully green system is the Jubilee Retail Outlet near Pongam, Kerala situated strategically on NH 544. The outlet with monthly average sales of 332 KL of petrol & 954 KL diesel is also the highest selling IOCL outlet in the state. The outlet has been fitted with a 50 KVA solar system that takes care of the entire power requirement of the retail outlet and was developed at a cost of ₹69 lakhs. The pump manager upon contact confirmed that the system can take a peak load of 50 KV and does also include a storage unit which powers the outlet at night.

The company has also revealed that it is constructing a 4 MW solar plant at Irumpanam in Kochi. The power generated from which will be used to power all the outlets operated by the company in the state. Earlier this month, IOCL invited applications for setting up of 27,000 petrol pumps pan India, however, it was not mentioned if any or all systems will be powered by solar energy.