Solar panels installed on top of the state secretariat. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 8: At least nine colleges and universities in that state will shortly be powered by solar energy.

This project will be carried out as part of the state government’s educational institutions’ “Solar Rooftop programme” initiated to reduce electricity consumption. The Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (Gedcol), a subsidiary of the Odisha Hydro Power Corporation, has been given the responsibility of installing solar panels on the roofs.

The system will help power lights and fans in classrooms. “The solar panels will have the capacity to generate 5MW of electricity,” a senior officer of the higher education department said.

The chosen institutions are Utkal University, BJB Autonomous College, Ramadevi Women’s College, Maharishi College of Natural Law (all in Bhubaneswar), Ravenshaw University, JKBK College, Shailabala Women’s College and Emarti Devi Women’s College (all in Cuttack) and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology at Sarang, Talcher.

Authorities of the colleges concerned have already been intimated about the number of units they will be allowed to consume from the total amount of energy produced by the solar panels. The International Finance Corporation has been roped in as the service provider for the project.

Gedcol is receiving a large number of inquiries from both government and private colleges for rooftop projects. It has already formed an expert committee that will visit the colleges and decide on the number and installation procedure of solar panels.

The expert team is planning to visit Sri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishvavidayalaya in Puri to assess the prospects of implementing the solar power project. Work has already started at Utkal University.

“Our aim is to switch over to green, renewable energy and also bring down the annual electricity consumption of the colleges. Utkal University pays about Rs 5 lakh a month towards electricity charges. Once implemented, the bill amount will come down considerably,” the officer said.