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Empowering schools with solar energy
The AP government has hit upon a novel idea of solar powering government schools in Guntur district in a phased manner. Solar power tapping is crucial in villages due to erratic supply of thermal power. Model schools, promoted by the union government under the Rastriya Majyamidhya Siksha Abhiyan scheme, will become centres for tapping solar energy.
The government will install solar power in 23 government model schools in Guntur district by October, 2015. This will be a boon to the children who will be ensured guaranteed hours of power supply to study in the evening
The AP government has hit upon a novel idea of solar powering government schools in Guntur district in a phased manner. Solar power tapping is crucial in villages due to erratic supply of thermal power. Model schools, promoted by the union government under the Rastriya Majyamidhya Siksha Abhiyan scheme, will become centres for tapping solar energy. The initiative has been taken up by Non-Conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NEDCAP) with the encouragement of District Collector Kantilal Dande.
Power is a contentious issue in the State. School-going children are the worst hit with no guaranteed power supply between 6 pm and 9 pm. To overcome the problem, model schools are now planning to light up the school compounds with solar energy. The schools will generate 5 kilowatt solar energy through solar panels which will be installed on the rooftop of the schools. The power can be used to operate 8-10 computers along with fans and lights in residential schools. Installation of solar panels and necessary equipment will be completed in five schools by the end of October, 2015. In the next phase, 8 schools will be covered. Overall, 23 model schools will be solar powered in a phased manner.
“We have already been popularising the concept of solar lights in rural homes by supplying it to several rural households. The rural population is beginning to see hope in solar lighting. The days of groping in darkness when power supply is interrupted for hours, has come to an end,” says NEDCAP project director G Haranath Babu.
Andhra Pradesh Model School principal Niranjan Kumar, based in Gurajala village, stated, “Model schools are already giving high quality education to rural children and the proposal to solar power these schools will add to the quality of education as children will have guaranteed hours of study in the evening.
The scheme will be a great boon to the children in residential schools,” he added. The schools which will be solar powered are those located in Gurajala, Dachepally, Durgi, Karampudi, Ballapalle, Nuzendla, Chikatigalapalem, Vipparlareddypalem,Tirumamilla, Kamalagunta, Jettipalem and Epuru villages spread across 12 mandals. As per the Union Government Action Plan, 14 schools will be covered in the first phase, 5 schools in the second phase and 4 in the third phase.
By:RAVI P BENJAMIN
