Ranchi University harnesses the sun at Mohrabadi

The Ranchi University (RU) is the lone varsity among the five state varsities to adopt ‘Green India Mission’ scheme and install solar panels on the rooftops of five academic buildings at its Mohrabadi campus.
Varsity sources said its electricity bill had come down drastically from Rs 7 lakh every month to Rs 50,000 after five of its buildings – Aryabhatt auditorium, Basic Science building, Examination department, Academic Staff College and Evaluation centre – went solar. The Mohrabadi campus generates around 30 KWh electricity from the solar panels installed at the cost of Rs 2 crore.
RU vice-chancellor R K Pandey said soon after assuming office he made it his priority to make entire RU campus environment friendly. “Thousands of trees were felled to make way for buildings and settlements in Mohrabadi area, once considered to be the green lung of the city. Our campus is one of them. At a time when are grappling with severe air pollution, adopting clean technologies like solar energy is a step towards preservation of the planet,” Pandey said.
The solar panels were installed in a span of seven months. “Energy generated from solar panels does not produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Since this is a renewable source of energy we no longer have to worry about power cuts since solar energy is available as backup. Using solar power automatically reduces electricity burden on the city’s power grid,” he said.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes