SASTRA commissions 80 KW biogas plant

‘11% of country's energy demand met by renewable sources'

GREEN INITIATIVE: P.R. Muralidharan, Deputy General Manager, TEDA, commissioning the bio-gas unit at SASTRA University in Thanjavur on Friday.

As part of its initiatives to optimise utility of renewable energy, SASTRA University on Friday commissioned an 80 KW biogas plant on its campus.

The plant of 600 m3 capacity inaugurated by P. R. Muralidharan, Deputy General Manager, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), utilises human and animal waste to produce power, and would cater to the energy requirements of the hostels.

Mr. Muralidharan lauded the efforts of SASTRA in promoting research and development in photo-voltaics, wind energy and biomass conversion.

Commissioning of the park marked the start of a two-day symposium on New and Renewable Energy (SYNERGY 2011).

Tamil Nadu ranks first in the country in harnessing renewable energy sources, Mr. Muralidharan said.

Alternative energy sources

Muralidharan stressed on the need to identify, develop and nurture alternate energy sources, stating that nearly 65% of India's energy requirement was dependent on thermal power and that only 11% of our energy demand was met by renewable energy sources.

Out of India's renewable energy installations, 42% were based in Tamil Nadu. Fast dwindling fossil fuel reserves coupled with the high transmission & distribution losses involved in thermal power plants have necessitated the development of multiple networks of renewable energy installations.

He urged researchers to focus on improving the efficiency and reducing the cost of renewable energy.

K. Uma Maheswari, Associate Dean, and P. Meera, also spoke.

Current scenario

The symposium serves as a forum for experts and budding young researchers from academia and industry to discuss the current energy scenario of the country and explore the feasibility of various renewable energy options with respect to socio-economic considerations.