Odisha's state universities to go green with solar energy

BHUBANESWAR: Aiming at making public universities green and reducing the cost of their energy consumption, the state government has decided to install solar power systems in all the campuses under the jurisdiction of the Department of Higher Education.

It will rope in Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL) for the work. The move will not only reduce the universities’ electricity bills but also help students in studies as there will be a steady power supply. Each of the universities pay at least `8 lakh a month towards electricity bills.
There are 18 public universities in the state under the control of the Higher Education department.

Officials of the department said there is a huge need for development of rooftop or ground mounted solar plants in their buildings thereby making the universities self-sufficient for power generation, decreasing the cost of energy consumption and creating green campuses. GEDCOL will be the sole executing agency for installation of the solar rooftop power systems in all the public universities.

“Tapping into solar energy for power requirements would mean a huge cut on electricity bills for these institutions which now have high energy needs for running smart class rooms, libraries, hostels, hi-tech computer and science labs that house a number of power consuming gadgets,” said Birendra Korkora, additional secretary of the department.

The department on Wednesday directed the corporation to examine the power requirements of all the institutions and begin work for the purpose.  The solar panel systems will be linked to a centralised electrical substation situated inside the campuses for collective solar coverage. Earlier, Sambalpur and Berhampur universities had decided to install rooftop solar plants on their campuses. Besides, the Ganjam administration is installing solar panels in all the 535 transformed high schools across the district.

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