State Bank of India (SBI) is rolling out over 300 solar-powered ATMs from local vendor Vortex Engineering at rural and semi-urban sites across the country.
SBI has signed for 545 machines, of which over 300 will solar-powered Gramateller Duo ATMs - developed in collaboration with IIT Madras - in the first large-scale deployment of its kind in the country.
The vendor says a conventional cash machine consumes about 1000 watts of power and requires an air-conditioned environment, adding another 1500 watts. This means a normal ATM consumes about 1800 units of power every month.
In contrast, Vortex claims that its machines consume less than 100 watts of power and do not require air conditioning, thus using up less than 72 units per month. The saving of 1728 units per month represents a cash benefit of Rs 1,20,000 a year.
In addition, compared to conventional ATM installations, Vortex's machines reduce CO2 emissions by at least 18,500 kg per year.
V Vijay Babu, CEO, Vortex Engineering, says: "With an ATM penetration of about 0.04 per 1000 people in India, there is a huge need for Rural ATMs. With this solar innovation becoming a viable option, Vortex looks forward to revolutionising the Rural ATM market."