IIT-KGP to provide solar domes for affordable clean energy in 10 states  

Kolkata: IIT-Kharagpur said Thursday that 44,000 micro solar domes will be provided to poor households in rural areas of 10 states under a project to provide clean energy at an affordable price.

Poor families are often unable to afford the grid-connected electricity while others may find disruption of power supply due to natural disasters, according to a statement from IIT-KGP.

The ‘micro solar dome’ project, being implemented in collaboration with the ‘NB Institute of Rural Technology’ (NBIRT), could provide a solution to the problem, it said.  The beneficiaries would be households of marginalised (SC and ST) communities in rural areas in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Odisha, Tripura, Manipur, Rajasthan, and Bihar.

Around 20,000 micro solar domes are to be installed in the first phase from November 2019 to February 2020, according to the statement provided by the institution.

Professor Priyadarshi Patnaik, joint PI (Project Investigator) from IIT Kharagpur, said, “Micro solar domes will be given to households based on their needs.”

With funding from the Department of Science and Technology of the Central Government, the institute has initiated the unique project to push for ‘solar energy adaptation among marginalised rural communities’.

A ‘micro solar dome’ operates as a clean energy source during day and night hours, an official said, adding that it is ideal for slums and rural houses.

Some micro solar domes have already been installed as preparatory work by the NBIRT at villages in Tripura and rural-belt, affected by the cyclone ‘Fani’, at Chandaka in Odisha.

PTI