24th February 2014 Mumbai, India
Championing renewable energies at DAVV
Recently, I visited the School of Energy and Environmental Studies (SEES) at the Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV), Indore, and met with the Head, Dr. S. P. Singh, who introduced me to the various renewable energy projects going on at the school. His research interests include solar passive buildings and energy systems, rural development: decentralised energy planning, biomass and solid waste management, energy and environment, and energy conservation.
Neatly nestled within the DAVV campus, the school hosts laboratories with several specialities including solar thermal and photovoltaic, heat and mass transfer, energy conservation, and biomass/waste management. The school has a 5 kW solar power plant, which fulfils the electricity needs of several classrooms and seminar halls at DAVV. Also, there is an active biogas plant in the backyard of the school building. A slew of research areas are being pursued at the school including solar thermal systems, biomass conversion technologies, hazardous waste management, green buildings, and water and wastewater treatment technologies. The school collaborates with several funding agencies including the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), and companies. The regional test centre for solar thermal devices and the biogas development and training centre (BDTC) under the National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) also operate out of the campus of SEES.
Energy and environment management is a top priority for the UK as well. The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), funded by the Research Councils Energy Programme, focuses its research agenda on sustainable future energy systems. The centre’s research objectives are covered by the five broad themes of technology and policy assessment, energy and environment, energy supply, energy demand, and energy systems. To keep abreast of UKERC’s ongoing activities and projects, you could subscribe to its periodic bulletins.
Solar energy definitely has a ways to go before it becomes that standard. One of the coolest solutions I’ve seen is that a private company in Germany (I think?) will sell people really really cheap solar panels and the people just have to pay a cut of the money that they save. This encourages people to use solar power and to save money. Definitely a viable solution in the United States! Good work on this blog!