In tune with the State government’s policy to go green with energy, St. Joseph’s College for Women installed an on-grid solar power system on its campus.
Inaugurating the solar plant, Minister for HRD Ganta Srinivasa Rao, said that the college set an example and it was now up to others to follow.
According to him, the government was in the process of designing a mission statement to make renewable or alternative sources of energy mandatory in all institutions and government offices. “There is a thrust on wind and solar energy, and to begin with, we are planning to install solar panels, to tap solar energy, in all government offices,” he said.
The grid capacity of the solar plant at the college is 27 KWP, and about 90 panels of 300 WP capacity each were installed on the terrace of the college. The energy tapped would be converted and transmitted through a 25 KVA inverter.
The total generated power was expected to touch 120 units per day. And this would enable the college to save about Rs. 40,000 per month on electricity bill. There was also a provision for net-metering and the excess power could be supplied to the electricity grid if required.
The project was jointly funded by the University Grants Commission and alumni members of the college and was installed by Perla Renewable Energy Company.
The life period of the plant was stated to be about 25 years and the recovery time for investment was five years.
