Solar plants to light up 27 AICTE institutions in Northeast

GUWAHATI: In a bid to make educational institutions self-sufficient in solar power,IIT Guwahati, in collaboration withAICTE, has completed the installation solar-power projects in the northeast, which are yielding 416 KW of power to help laboratories, offices and streetlights to function uninterrupted in 27 AICTE-affiliated institutions.

Government Polytechnic Laying in Kurung Kumey district in Arunachal Pradesh, the Institute of Communication and Information Technology (ICIT), Mokokchung, Nagaland, and Mizoram Polytechnic in Lunglei, Mizoram, are located in remote areas where restoring power supply was the biggest challenge. “In Mokokchung and Laying they were taking water directly from the stream. The students and faculty were facing serious difficulties regarding water and frequent interruption in power supply,” said an IIT Guwahati official.

The solar plants, during the 25 years of service period, are expected to bring down the financial burden on energy compared to conventional electricity supply.

During the project’s first phase, 27 institutions received funding of Rs 5.4 crore for installation of solar plants and 16 institutions received funding of Rs 1.92 crore for water treatment facilities. The next phase will be a boost for digital connectivity under which high-speed internet will be facilitated in various technical institutions of NE. In the first phase, the highest 11 institutions have been covered in Assam, six in Arunachal Pradesh, three in Nagaland and two each in Manipur andTripura. In Sikkim, Mizoram and Meghalaya, one institution in each state has benefited.

“Due to the hilly terrain, most institutions in the northeast are located in remote places where the supply of adequate power and safe drinking water are a challenge. This project is the first-of-its-kind in the northeast in which AICTE and IIT Guwahati facilitate financial and technical expertise to the institutions to provide infrastructure,” said an IIT Guwahati spokesperson.