From: bcsabha.kal...@gmail.com To: 26 Feb 2015Hindustan Times (Mumbai)Badri Chatterjee badri.chatter...@hindustantimes.com MUMBAI: In a first for a chain of educational institutions, solar panels have been installed on the roofs of five schools and one college by Don Bosco organisation to power the institutes during the day.ARIJIT SEN/ HT PHOTOFather Bosco D’Mello, principal, Don Bosco High School, Matunga, explains to students how the solar panels on the school roof works.In a joint effort by the management of Don Bosco organisation, Mumbai, and an independent organisation, Green Line, solar power, an efficient and costeffective technique that works towards protecting the environment, has been implemented.This project was piloted at Don Bosco High School, Matunga, and Don Bosco Provincial Building (headquarters for the solar panel project), where a 10Kv unit was setup nearly a year back. Lights and fans of eight classrooms and the school office are operated through solar power.“We plan to use solar power to run the whole school within three years. Students are already being made aware of the advantages of solar energy through workshops,” said Bosco D’Mello, principal, Don Bosco High School, Matunga.“It is a way of educating our students and making them aware of such environmental projects,” said Father Crispino D’souza, principal, St. Dominic Savio High School, Andheri, where a solar panel setup of 10kv unit has been installed. St. Jospeph’s High School, Wadala, is another such institution where a 10Kv unit is present.Don Bosco High School and Junior College, Naigaon, and Don Bosco Senior Secondary School, Nerul and Navi Mumbai have also set up 20Kv solar panels under this initiative. Don Bosco Institute of Technology, Kurla, is making use of power from a 110Kv solar panel.Father Flouvi Dsouza, principal, Don Bosco High School and Junior College, Naigaon, said, “We have a 20Kv setup on our roof, which provides 40% of the electricity supply for the school. Since we have frequent power cuts in the area, this initiative acts as a supplement and also reduces diesel consumption of the generators.”Green Line, a self-governing organisation, working towards the betterment of the environment, has introduced this initiative. “It is both lucrative and a solution for environmental issues,” said Father Savio Silveira, Director, Green Line.Father Savio said, “The initiative is aimed at educational institutes adopting environmentfriendly systems. Electricity generation through this project is our way of reducing global warming.”Sunipod is the producer of these solar units. The general bandwidth for the cost of construction for these units is from Rs7.5 lakh to 12 lakh per 10Kv.Abhishek Gupta, president business development, Sunipod, said, “Once the initial payment for setting up solar panels is done and the cost recovered within three years, the electricity being used then on is for free.”
