300 of SBI's new 545 ATM will be solar

CHENNAI, INDIA: A conventional ATM consumes about 1000 W of power and requires an air-conditioned environment—another 1500 W—for functioning. Thus, a conventional ATM consumes about 1800 units of power every month.

Vortex Engineering, a provider of Rural ATMs (Automated Teller Machines), has announced India’s first large-scale rollout of Solar ATMs. This rollout follows the winning of an order from State Bank of India for a deployment of 545 ATMs across semi-urban and rural India. Of these 545 ATMs, over 300 will be solar-powered.

Vortex’s Solar-powered Gramateller Duo ATMs have been developed in collaboration with IIT Madras. These are claimed by the company to be innovative low power consuming ATMs tailor-made for semi-urban and rural areas.

Vortex’s Solar-powered Gramateller Duo ATMs consume less than 100 W of power and do not require air conditioning, thus consuming less than 72 units per month, as the company states. This indicates a saving of 1728 units per month and at least Rs 1,20,000 per year (at a conservative commercial rate of Rs 6 per unit) when compared to a conventional ATM installation. Compared to conventional ATM installations, Vortex’s solar-powered Gramateller Duo ATMs reduce CO2 emissions by at least 18,500 kg per year.

Commenting on the rollout, V Vijay Babu, CEO, Vortex Engineering, said, “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. The company is extremely thankful to IIT Madras and State Bank of India.”