NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology has become the first Central Government-funded technical Institute to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 50 per cent. This was made possible by the recent bilateral 2MW power purchase contract made by IIT Delhi with a hydro power generator in Himachal Pradesh, said officials.
“Open access provisions in Electricity Act 2003 made it possible to buy power from the generators of their choice through bilateral contracts or energy exchange, for large consumers of power like IIT Delhi, and we made use of these provisions by involving PTC India Limited as a trader to identify a source of ‘green’ power,” said IIT director V Ramgopal Rao.
Buying power exclusively from ‘green’ generators is equivalent to off-setting about 14000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. IIT Delhi already has 2.7 MWp of rooftop solar PV installation. With the addition of 2 MW of hydro power, the institute’s power purchase portfolio has 4.7 MW of green power as against the contract demand of around 8.5 MW with the local utility that essentially serves academic and hostel areas.
“Availing green power through open access is another important initiative that we have taken in recent times to share our responsibility towards clean climate. Through such proactive actions, we are making good progress in achieving the target of making our campus smart, sustainable and green. The institute plans to expand the green power purchase portfolio in the near future,” said the director.
The institute is also planning to share this facility with other organisations and institutes, for which it has created a template for educational institutes who wish to avail this facility. IIT has also started E- rickshaw facility to ferry people from visitors’ parking to the institute area, installed solid-waste management and a 1.5 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant to make the campus greener and save environment.