Focus on developing low cost solar technology

[sajiv]

Focus on developing low cost solar technology

Loyola Institute of Solar Energy and Technology inaugurated

MADURAI: To encourage use of solar energy, an institute under the name Loyola Institute of Solar Energy and Technology (LSET) was inaugurated here on Saturday.

The institute, situated at Gnanaolivupuram, will function as a resource, research, training and production centre with focus on popularising solar energy and products.

S. Vincent, Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology, and Kalyani Annie, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Open University, were among those who participated in the inaugural function of the institute which was spearheaded by Jesuit Madurai Province Solar Project.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Vincent, who was the chief guest, said that the institute must concentrate on developing cost-effective solar technology "because it is a costly affair and not affordable at present." He observed that people were shying away from solar equipments due to the cost factor.

"The institute could study the existing solar technology and find out the reasons as to why it is not popular in India. Then, it could come out with low cost technology that would help villages also to go for that," he suggested.

According to Dr. Vincent, there are still 80,000 villages in the country which do not have electricity as they could not be connected to the grid. "A greater change could happen in rural areas if affordable solar technology was developed," he pointed out.

Presiding over the function, Dr. Kalyani Annie also felt that the solar energy products should be cheaper and viable if it has to be popular. "Our university will think of introducing courses related to solar energy because there are immense benefits," she said.

She stressed that the electricity generated by solar power system is clean, renewable and reliable. Besides, it saves money on electricity bill.

Stephen J. Muthu, Director, LSET, who made a presentation about the institute, said that it will carry out academic research on solar energy, conduct training programmes for technicians to maintain solar products and organise workshops to promote use of solar energy.

A. Selvaraj, President, Confederation of Southern States Small Industries Association (CONSSIA), and Rev. Devadoss, Chairman, Tamil Nadu Jesuit Educational Institutions, were among those who spoke. A workshop on 'solar energy solutions' was organised by Loyola Centre for Social Concern in collaboration with Jesuit Madurai Province Solar Project.