Tripura University, established under the central government of India, has announced that it has installed rooftop solar systems totaling 500 kW at its premises, spread over multiple buildings at the university campus. According to a statement by the university, it is the first university in north east India to have installed a solar project of this scale. The project was assigned to Tripura University by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

“These panels can generate 700,000 units of electricity per annum and is expected to help Tripura University save of up to 30-35 percent on their power consumption. We will also add another 100 kW of solar capacity in the near future” said V. L. Dharurkar, vice-chancellor, Tripura University.

“We thank the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the university administration and the project developers who have supported us in this initiative” Dharukar added.

He also thanked Delhi based Wattplus Energy, a solar energy company that executed the project.

According to Dharukar, the project is expected to secure a net metering connection with the help of the Tripura State Electricity Corporation (TSECL). The project is located in nine different buildings of the Tripura University which includes academic buildings 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, old canteen, old guest house and examination halls.

With the Indian governments push, rooftop solar projects are being adopted by private as well as government owned educational institutions across the country.

Recently, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Indore joined the league of green campuses in the country by installing 422 kW solar rooftop system in its premises. Around the same time, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) also 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 November 2018, Mercom reported on the news of Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia University installing a 2.25 MW Rooftop Solar Project. In July 2018, Amity University installed rooftop solar PV projects aggregating 1.8 MW across three campuses. In May 2018, IIT Kharagpur had invited an expression of interest to develop 5.5 MW of solar projects. In May 2018, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Uttarakhand’s Pantnagar town also tendered a 5 MW grid-connected rooftop solar PV project.

Shaurya is a staff reporter at MercomIndia.com with experience working in the Indian solar energy industry for the past four years in various roles. Prior to joining Mercom, Shaurya worked with a renewable energy developer and a consulting company. Shaurya holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.