Bangalore University becomes first state-run institution to be equipped with solar panels
As higher education institutions strive to cut costs, Bangalore University (BU) will become the first state university in Karnataka to be equipped with solar power.
In a matter of just 40 days, solar panels have been installed on six buildings on the Jnanabharathi campus of the
university. With this, BU is set to save Rs 1.5crore annually.
The solar panels installed on the roof of the Library Block, Management and Journalism Block, Department of Geology, Administrative Block, Sneha Bhavan and Architecture Department will now generate 530kWH of power daily.
Professor KR Venugopal, vice-chancellor of BU, said, “We had this project executed by a company called Think Energy, which was shortlisted by the central government. These solar panels installed on the roof top of the six
buildings came free of cost. They will generate 530kWH of power each day, whereas our daily load is only 300kWH.”
“We are going to generate excess energy between 10am and 3pm. The whole system is linked to the BESCOM grid. The power generated will be sent to the grid and then we will buy energy from BESCOM,” added Venugopal.
This translates to a hefty discount from BESCOM. Instead of paying Rs 8 per unit, BU will now have to pay only Rs 3.90 paise. Officials said that it will cut down the total cost by half.
Venugopal said, “We will use the excess power at night for street lights and other purposes. If our daily usage is
under 230kWH, then the Univesity will have to pay a lower tariff of Rs 2.50 paise per unit. For the excess
As higher education institutions strive to cut costs, Bangalore University (BU) will become the first state university in Karnataka to be equipped with solar power.
In a matter of just 40 days, solar panels have been installed on six buildings on the Jnanabharathi campus of the university. With this, BU is set to save Rs 1.5crore annually.
The solar panels installed on the roof of the Library Block, Management and Journalism Block, Department of Geology, Administrative Block, Sneha Bhavan and Architecture Department will now generate 530kWH of power daily.
Professor KR Venugopal, vice-chancellor of BU, said, “We had this project executed by a company called Think Energy, which was shortlisted by the central government. These solar panels installed on the roof top of the six buildings came free of cost. They will generate 530kWH of power each day, whereas our daily load is only
300kWH.”
“We are going to generate excess energy between 10am and 3pm. The whole system is linked to the BESCOM grid. The power generated will be sent to the grid and then we will buy energy from BESCOM,” added Venugopal.
This translates to a hefty discount from BESCOM. Instead of paying Rs 8 per unit, BU will now have to pay only Rs 3.90 paise. Officials said that it will cut down the total cost by half.
Venugopal said, “We will use the excess power at night for street lights and other purposes. If our daily usage is under 230kWH, then the Univesity will have to pay a lower tariff of Rs 2.50 paise per unit. For the excess.
Source: bangaloremirror.indiatimes
