Kozhikode: Farook College, Feroke, the cradle of many a luminary in north Kerala, is setting a model for other educational institutions yet again. The college will soon start depending on a solar power plant for the energy required for its consumption. There is more to it. It will supply the excess power generated to the power grid of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) at Feroke.
The 160 solar panels, set up on the roof top of the administrative block, are capable of generating 4,800 units of electricity per month. Since the institution requires only 4,000 units per month, the remaining 800 units can be used by houses or establishments that come under the Feroke power grid.
“To my knowledge, it is for the first time a college in the State has done something like this. We are happy to be of service to our neighbours in some way,” principal E.P. Imbichi Koya told The Hindu .
The plant has been set up at a cost of ₹31 lakh. Under the Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (Anert) scheme for solar projects, the Central government will bear 30 % of the expense of the plant, while the State will give ₹10,000 for every kilowatt of power produced. The college has permission to generate up to 40 kilowatts.
The plant has undergone several stages of testing under the aegis of the KSEB and Anert. It will be commissioned in a few days after the final testing.
Farook College had solar-powered all street lights on the campus much earlier.
