The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Indore has joined the league of green campuses in the country by installing 422 kW solar rooftop power system in its premises. The project was commissioned by BVG India Ltd, an integrated services company.

The solar system is spread across 4,220 square meters and expected to generate over 1,580 kWp per annum of electricity. This will help the institute to reduce 500 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

In May 2018, IIT Kharagpur had invited expression of interest to develop 5.5 MW of solar projects.

An increasing number of educational institutions are turning to solar as it is a cheaper source of electricity and also helps curb toxic carbon emissions. Of late, a number of educational centers across the country have adopted cost-effective rooftop solar as a way to build a sustainable future.

Recently, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) installed a 500 kW rooftop solar system to light up its classrooms.

Mumbai’s St Xavier’s High School has also installed a 35 kW rooftop solar system to save approximately ₹700,000 (~$9,726) every year on its electricity bill.

In July 2018, Amity University installed rooftop solar PV projects totaling 1.8 MW across three campuses.

In May 2018, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Uttarakhand’s Pantnagar town tendered a 5 MW grid-connected rooftop solar PV project.

Solar initiatives undertaken by the educational institutions are setting a good example for the rest of the country. Not only will this make the country adopt a sustainable and economical source of power, it will support the overall growth trajectory of the rooftop solar sector.

In addition to individual institutions, some of India’s state governments have taken the initiative to power their schools using solar energy.

Last year, the Haryana government announced it will install solar hybrid systems in all government schools of the state in a phased manner.

According to the latest quarterly report by Mercom India Research, India’s solar installations have reached 6.6 GW year-to-date with large-scale projects making up 5,382 MW and rooftop installations accounting for 1,240 MW. Rooftop installations in Q3 2018 accounted for 435 MW, which was a 5 percent increase from 415 MW installed in Q2 2018, and a 64 percent increase when compared to 265 MW installed in Q3 2017.

Image credit: BVG India