NIT-K to get solar rooftop

The National Institute of
Technology Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal near here will soon have one of the largest solar rooftops in a government academic institution in the South.
The power grid, which would generate one MW of power, was being installed across 11 academic buildings of NIT-K as part of the national solar mission.
The solar rooftop would be inaugurated during the annual convocation ceremony of the institutute on November 12, a release here said.
As per its plans to implement green technology in academic institutes, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had persuaded the Ministry of Human Resource anddevelopment (MHRD) to direct all academic institutes to set up roof-mounted solar plants.

The connection of four buildings had been completed and the remaining were on the final stages, D N Gaonkar, assistant professor and nodal officer for the solar plant project, said in the release.

CleanMax Solar, a rooftop solar developer, is developing the plant, in association with the institute.
They have signed an agreement with NIT-K for 25 years.
According tothe agreement, the developer will bear the cost of setting up the entire solar rooftop, and will sell power to NIT-K.
Gaonkar said the power expense will be lower than KPTCL power grid charges.
With the focus on maximising power generation, the project had been designed keeping in mind the high wind load due to the institute's proximity to the Arabian Sea, he said.

NIT-K can save about Rs 5 lakh a month on energy expenditure once the solar roof top becomes operational.