DHARWAD: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dharwad is set to establish physical infrastructure for the adoption of clean energy (solar, wind and bioenergy) solutions to improve the lives and livelihoods of rural communities, its director said.
In 2022, the institute tied up with SELCO India and Honeywell to establish the Global Centre For Excellence And Sustainable Energy. The centre had chosen Garag village in Dharwad district for the pilot project and the same model is emulated in other villages.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, the Director of IIT-Dharwad Dr Venkappayya Desai said, "The tropical region has the capacity of producing solar energy. The project is underway in Garag village on a pilot basis and soon it will be implemented in a few more villages."
Dr Dhiraj Patil, Associate Dean (Academic) and Faculty in charge of the Centre said that with the innovative support from the Honeywell company, the project is working well in Garag village in terms of demonstrating livelihood applications.
"We have started the project with solar energy and will be moving to wind energy and biogas in the coming days. It has been proven that one can rely on solar energy for eight to nine months of the year in this region," he said.
"Besides funding from the Honeywell company, the Karnataka government has approved funding for the project. Once the funds are sanctioned the energy-efficient village concept will be implemented in other villages of Dharwad as well," he added.
Meanwhile, the IIT-D has begun preparations to shift from its transit campus to its permanent campus in a phased manner. Institute director Dr Venkappayya Desai said that the new campus has commenced theory classes for a few batches of students. They visit the transit campus for lab work.
"We will add new courses and PhD programmes in the coming academic year. The current student strength is 850. The first-year batch has 250 students out of which 50 are girl students," he said.