Tezpur University Generating 90,000 kW of Solar Electricity Every Month

Tezpur University in Assam is generating on average – nearly 90,000 kW of electricity every month through its 1 MW on-campus rooftop solar power systems.

The Tezpur University in Assam has said that it is generating on average – nearly 90,000 kilowatts (kW) of electricity every month through its 1 MW on-campus rooftop solar power systems. The central university has so far generated 19,68,345 kW of energy from October 2018 to July 2020 by installing solar panels on the roofs of the 15 buildings on the campus.

“The maximum generation in one day is 5,938 kW and the average daily generation during this period is 2,949 kW,” it said in a statement. The highest amount of electricity in a single month was generated in August 2019 (1,12,149 kW), the varsity said. “The university also reduced 1,614 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission due to solar power generation during this period,” the statement said.

In order to develop sustainable buildings, Tezpur University has installed a 1,000-kilowatt peak (kWp) rooftop grid-connected solar power plant by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) under RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) mode.

“The university purchases electricity from Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd at the rate of Rs 6.60 per kW, whereas the solar power plant generated electricity cost is Rs 2.42 per kW. Solar rooftop scheme is much cheaper than buying electricity at commercial rates,” said Department of Energy – Associate Professor Sadhan Mahapatra.

Rooftop solar power projects have several advantages like savings in transmission and distribution, low gestation time, reduction in electricity bill, and saving of battery said the faculty member, who is associated with the project as coordinator.

With this initiative, the university has been able to effectively replace 24 percent of its monthly electricity consumption from the conventional model, it said in a statement.

Tezpur University Registrar Biren Das said, “we are the first academic institution to initiate the installation of megawatt-scale rooftop grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plants in the entire North-Eastern region.”

In March, a tender had been issued for a 5 MW grid-connected solar PV power system under EPC mode at the permanent campus (Phase I) of Nalanda University at Rajgir in Bihar. The project is recognised and registered under CPSU (Tranche-II) Phase-II Scheme being run by SECI. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 24.25 crore.

More recently, the National Institute for Wind Energy (NIWE) had issued a tender for the commissioning of a 1 MW solar energy power plant at the Madurai Kamaraj University in Tamil Nadu.