KOCHI: With the inauguration of the sustainable neighbourhood project at Government Higher Secondary School, Elamakkara, it becomes the first school in the city to operate on solar energy. Implemented by Kochi Corporation, the project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
It was inaugurated by German Ambassador Dr Philip Ackerman on Thursday.
The project includes a sewage treatment plant, green infrastructure, and the installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic cells. “The school will generate the electricity required for its functioning through the solar panels installed on its roof. Additionally, a nature-based sewage treatment project has been implemented to treat wastewater from septic tanks. The water will pass through the gravel and sand-filled tanks to the plants, with no odours,” Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar said.
“The solar panels were provided by GIZ, a German agency. Furthermore, a cool roof project has been implemented, where plants are grown on the roof to naturally cool the classrooms, helping students escape the summer heat,” added Anilkumar.
As an experiment, 15 houses in Kochi Corporation’s Elamakkara division have installed 2 kilowatts of on-grid rooftop solar photovoltaic cells.
“The German Ambassador has expressed that the sustainable neighbourhood project is a great model for sustainable development, and various German agencies will provide all possible assistance to the project,” said the mayor. The Centre for Heritage, Environment, and Development (C-HED) acted as the nodal agency in the city. Additionally, the SCMS School of Engineering and Technology, the Frankfurt School of Finance, the Fraunhofer Society, the University of Stuttgart, and the National Institute of Urban Affairs have partnered in this project.