GMCH Nagpur to implement solar power system to maintain Asia's biggest campus
Nagpur: In order to handle the exuberant electric bills, the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Nagpur has decided to implement a solar power generation system that will produce 1200 kw of energy.
The Nagpur (GMCH) of Nagpur is Asia's biggest government medical college in terms of area and number of seats, hence it requires a sufficient amount of power to maintain the facility. Currently, GMCH had to invest an amount of Rs90 lakh per month on power bills but the state government only provides Rs8 crore annually for power expenses which often becomes inadequate.
Now with the implementation of the solar power system, the electricity bill is most likely to become less than half and it also will provide a long-term solution for the medical college. The use of the solar power system will also help the institution to support the cause of 'go green'.
Spread on 196 acres, GMCH has almost more than 2,500 medicos pursuing several disciplines of modern medicines there. The college has been granted Rs6 crore for the construction and implementation of the solar power units. The solar power system has been a long-sought demand of the institution and the proposal for the same was submitted in 2017. The tender process for the work has already started by Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA or MahaUrja).
Times of India reports that according to a senior official in MEDA, authorities have decided to install two units of 640 kw power generation capacity on the GMCH premises. Solar panels will be set on various buildings on the GMCH premises. Rooftops of ward nos 12, 13, 28, 32, and 33, entire wing in east side, MARD hostel, students hostels and nursing hostels will have solar panels installed. The panels will cover about 10,300 sq metre area and they will produce almost 1260 kw of electricity.
The in-charge dean Dr. Sudhir Gupta told TOI that the District Planning and Development Committee (DPC) has already made arrangements for the allotment of funds. "We have got funds from the DPDC and technical approvals from MahaUrja. This project will soon become a reality and will be one of its kind for any government medical college in the state," said Dr Gupta. Though the state provides a significant amount to bear the electricity charges, GMCH with its wide campus houses trauma care centre, superspecialty hospital, and hostels for resident doctors, and a great number of students require a great amount of power for the smooth running of all the facilities. Hence, the college has come up with the idea of implementing a solar power system to decrease the bill while ensuring sufficient electricity.
Authorities also have plans to develop cancer hospitals, spine care centre, and geriatric care centre on GMCH premises. Hence, power demands is most likely to be increased by the next few years. Under these circumstances, the solar units will prove to be essentially beneficial for the GMCH.
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