In a significant move to promote green technology and also as a step towards becoming self-reliant in meeting its own power requirement, the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela will set up a 1-Megawatt solar power plant in its campus.
This will provide approximately half of the power requirement of the institute, and in case of power failure during working hours of the normal activities such as classes, laboratories, library, central computer centre, health centre and all other offices can continue their function with this power supply.
NIT Director Prof Sunil Kumar Sarangi, along with a team of faculty and experts, recently visited a similar solar power plant at Bamra in Jharsuguda district being run by a private industry.
At present the NIT consumes approximately two MW of power for the entire campus. A group of institute faculty is working in the area of technology for renewable sources of energy.
The present move has also the mandate of the Government considering the importance of solar power projects from the point of view of environment, ecology and pollution.
Necessary steps are being initiated to complete the formalities to set up the proposed solar power plant, the cost of which is estimated at Rs 10 crore, said NIT Public Relations secretary RK Sinha.