Centre for Learning gets high on wind-energy

Yesterday evening, there was applause by students and staff when Adarsh finally clambered down the 65 feet high pole after attaching the blades and hub on the 650 watts wind turbine.

A little later, there were loud cheers and more applause when the turbine adjusted its tail and the blades picked up its first gust of wind and rotated to produce a crackle of electric energy.

The students were busy at their studies this morning when Seema helped put finishing touches to the wiring of the heart of the system, the charge controllers and switchboards. But Mitras quietly applauded and cheered ourselves for a job done, well done.

Together with a spanking new photo-voltaic solar system and a refurbished existing pv solar system, the wind turbine will produce almost 3.5 kw that will provide uninterrupted power supply to all dormitories and the computer lab.

With solar water heating systems already installed at all dorms and the guest house, this is a big, almost there, step for Centre for Learning to get off the grid, be self sufficient and make a huge difference to the way its students perceive energy. And environment. And their role in it.

It is hard to believe it was less than 20 months ago that the Centre for Learning community undertook the ‘Walk to School’ to raise awareness and funds to achieve their objective of installing clean, green, renewable energy sources at their campus.

Mitras are proud of having walked with them so far and look forward to helping them fulfilling their wish of self-sufficiency in near future. Honge oil pressing machine anyone?

Mitras wishes the cheerful CFL community, a happy Holi, a happy Navroz, a happy Id-E-Milad, a happy Easter, and a very very happy Mela celebrations this weekend. And to you too.

Peepal and Mitra bring light to Jambulne school

On 23rd February 2008, Vasti shala, a tiny school in the small off-grid hamlet of Jambulne (Devgarh) near Pune, became the first Solar Study Center thanks to the efforts of our partners Peepal Foundation, a bunch of professionals working relentlessly to empower the under privileged.

The solar lighting system, Venus, gifted by Centrica Plc, will provide sufficient light for four hours after dusk for about 40 students of this hamlet to study, revise and prepare for important examinations. Peepal Foundation that holds educational and cultural programmes for the less fortunate students in Pune and Senior citizens also plans to use the Solar Study Center to run literacy and livelihood programmes for children and women when the center is not being used by the students.

Mitras will monitor this pilot project for six months for efficacy and efficiency and then replicate it to more such schools and community centers in off grid villages in the hinterlands of the country. Our objective of course is to empower with the right power, in this case solar power, but where possible we hope to use other renewable energy technologies suitable for local conditions.

Besides thanking the folks at Peepal Foundation for helping us realise the first project of our Solar Study Center concept, we will also take the opportunity to convey our best wishes and more power to Vineet Kharat, the force behind Peepal, on his birthday that happily enough coincided with the date of the installation.