Indian govt to back university solar scheme of up to 1 MW - report

Dec 12, 2012 - India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is to back a university campus solar system with a capacity of up to 1 MW, The Hindu reported on Wednesday, citing the project's co-principal investigator.

G Poyyamoli told the newspaper on Tuesday that the project at the Pondicherry University’s Silver Jubilee Campus would be the first one to includes a solar facility on a university campus under the ministry's programme. The ministry would potentially provide 30% of the financing for the project, he added, and has already awarded INR 1 million (USD 18,000/EUR 14,000) for the preparation of the master plan and detail project report.

According to an initial survey of the campus area, the system could have a capacity of 1 MW if solar panels are installed on all rooftops on campus and in a separate area in the central lawn space. The solar facility may have a total annual output of 1,570 MWh, which is in excess of the campus' needs, with the extra electricity to be fed into the grid.

The project will also include two biogas facilities and solar steam cookers, principal investigator R Arun Prasath told the paper. The university is also pondering installing small wind turbines on Silver Jubilee Campus periphery, for which the ministry would give a 50% subsidy.

(INR 100. 0 = USD 1.842/EUR 1.417)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!