Jamia to soak up the sun, go fully green

The university, which now has a 2.25MW solar power plant — the largest among all central universities in the country — has also started constructing two sewage water treatment plants and will follow the green building concept for all constructions on the campus.

The university got in touch with a NCR-based leading solar developer, SunSource Energy, which executed the project on a turnkey basis and will maintain it for the next 25 years under the renewable energy service company (Resco) model,” Jamia executive engineer Liyaqat Zaidi said, adding that the university is trying to minimise its carbon footprint. In all, 7,042 solar panels have been installed on the rooftops in over 54 campus buildings. “With the installation of the 2.25MW plant, Jamia Millia Islamia is expected to save over Rs 1 crore annually apart from significantly contributing to the environment,” said Kushagra Nandan, COO & co-founder of the company. “Jamia will also reduce its carbon footprint by saving 1,155,128kg coal — an equivalent of 60,323 tree seedlings grown for 10 years,” Nandan said. The project will also help students in training and career development.

Zaidi said the sewage plants would treat water used by the residents of the campus and this treated water would be utilised by the horticulture department to maintain the plants on the campus. The project, which is in line with the Centre’s target of installation of 40GWP grid-connected solar rooftop systems in the country by 2022, is expected to have an annual gross output of 3,061MWh.