880 govt schools across state to have solar panels
69 schools of Ludhiana district part of the project
As many as 69 schools in the Ludhiana district will be covered under the solar net metering project, in which solar panels of 5 KW will be installed. In the state, as many as 880 schools will be covered under this project.
Solar panels have been installed in some schools while in others, these are still to be installed. This move is expected to bring fruitful results as schools will be able to save on their electricity bill and diesel expenses, which is used in gensets.
Of the 69 government schools of the Ludhiana district, in which solar panels are to be installed, 16 are located in urban areas while the rest lie in the rural belt. Schools were asked to upload the copy of their electricity bill and picture of the school head to apply for the project online. Schools are expecting some relief after the installation of the panels as it will help in managing their electricity bill more effectively.
Government high and senior secondary schools use amalgamation funds to pay their electricity bills. Most government schools face problems in paying the bills since the funds are collected from students on an annual basis but the electricity bill is to be submitted every two months. Funds are collected from students of Class IX to XII.
Last year, Government Model Senior Secondary Smart School, Punjab Agricultural University, got the 10 KW solar panels installed in one block and since then has been able to save a huge amount of electricity bill. Sanjeev Thapar, principal of the school, said: “After the installation of the solar panels in the block comprising 24 rooms, the electricity bill of the block has stopped. The extra electricity generated goes to the power department and the units are adjusted in the power bill.”
The schosol has also applied for getting solar panels in the remaining blocks. “Once the panels are installed in the remaining blocks, we will become self-sufficient in power,” he said.
Another school principal, who has applied for solar panels, said the power bill of their school was too high to handle, so they had also applied for the installation of solar panels, and hopefully the problem will be solved after that.
Source: tribuneindia
