INDIAN SCIENCE TEACHER: State’s first solar campus

6 Feb 2012

State’s first solar campus

January 3, 2012
By T. Sudheesh
DC
Kochi

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Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Thiruvalla (Macfast), the first private self-financing college in the State, has of late become the first solar-powered campus in Kerala — perhaps the first of its kind in the country.
Macfast always stood for innovative ideas ever since its inception, thanks to founder principal, Fr Abraham Mulamoottil and his successor, Fr Pradeep Vazhatharamalayil. For instance, ‘Radio Macfast-90.4’ two years ago and the popular ‘Green and Clean City’ project a year ago were praiseworthy achievements of the campus.
The campus has now been in the news for installing a 30 kw rooftop solar power plant that should produce 45,000 units (kilowatt hours) of electricity yearly to meet the annual power demands of the institution.
Fr Pradeep Vazhatharamalayil, principal, said that the installation of the technology was made possible by the Hyderabad-based Radiant Solar Private Limited with the support of the Union Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and ANERT attached to Department of Power, Kerala. Macfast also invested `72 lakh in the project, says Fr Pradeep.
“Green energy — produced by the solar power plant — is the only way we can address the energy needs of the country and this was the prime motive behind the project,’’ said Fr Pradeep.