Rabindra Bharati University to use solar energy on BT Road campus

Kolkata: In a significant stride towards going green and reducing electricity cost, Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) is all set to switch over to solar power on its BT Road campus.

"The demand for air conditioners at the campus is rising by leaps and bounds and with this the cost of electricity is also expected to shoot up. So we have decided to go for solar power in our campus," said Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor of RBU.

The university had appealed to the state Higher Education department for funds along with the cost estimate of installation of solar panel made by West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA).

The department has agreed to allocate funds of more than Rs 1.11 crore for this purpose.

The solar panel will be installed on the roof of the Arts building in the varsity. The panel will be connected with the grid so that the excess electricity produced is not wasted and stored in the grid.

There is hardly any demand for lights at the campus during night.

The decision for going solar was taken at the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) meeting of the university in the month of April. The university authorities then contacted WBREDA and the latter sought for certain information.

After the varsity gave them the details, WBREDA sent the estimate of setting up the facility to the varsity in the month of May.

The expenditure of over Rs 1.11 crore as per estimates of WBREDA was too much on the part of university.

The V-C then wrote to the state Higher Education department for fund assistance along with the estimate submitted by WBREDA. The department agreed to sanction the entire funds for the project. Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty of the Arts department in the university is overseeing the entire matter.

A senior university official said that apart from saving electricity cost the go green measure like this will also contribute towards better ranking in the assessment of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

The RBU campus on BT Road features uniqueness in projecting itself as a centre for higher learning in performing arts, fine arts, language, literature and social sciences. There are three major faculties Arts, Fine Arts and Visual Arts, housed in the campus while the original campus Jorasanko, now houses a museum, and hosts a number of events including the annual convocation.