The news is getting grimmer each day. Cyclones, earthquakes, pandemic – you name it and we have that natural disaster ongoing right now. If there’s one thing we have learnt from the current times, it is the urgency to make better choices for the planet. Our future generations need to learn from the mistakes and find ways to undo the harm that we have caused to the environment and what better way to set an example than to choose a clean and green source of energy around young minds?

It’s then pertinent that schools and colleges opt for solar energy to power the premises and contribute to sustainability. However, saving the environment isn’t the only benefit for schools & universities while making the switch to solar. There are many different ways in which solar energy can aid commercial institutions.  

Educational institutes across the country are already leveraging solar to power classes, hostels, canteens and libraries and saving their operational costs by a great margin. 

Here are the benefits of using solar energy to power schools and colleges:

1. Flat Roofs and ideal spacing
   With solar entering different commercial settings in the last decade, it is becoming clearer that more than residential, commercial institutions stand to benefit dramatically with solar PV. One of the reasons for this is the flat roof and the availability of ample shadeless space for sunlight absorption. Since the solar panels can be conveniently installed on flat roofs, which most schools and colleges in India are equipped with, they improve efficiency and prove to be even more cost-effective.
2. Inexhaustible free source of energy
   There is no recurring cost once you’ve paid for the solar installation. Therefore, once you’ve made the switch to a clean source of energy, you are saying bye-bye to hefty electricity bills through the long course of your school/college’s existence. Sun’s inexhaustible free source of energy or Anant Urja Srot, as we call it at Patanjali will eventually nullify PV installation costs and lead to a return on investment within a few years. On top of this, you can leverage the space that schools and universities have to accommodate hundreds of panels, generating electric power for the entire campus as the more panels you install, the more inexhaustible free solar energy you can produce.
3. Optimise operational costs
   Solar is the cheapest source of energy available in the world! With educational institutions always looking out for ways to reduce operational costs and lower tuition fees, solar can be a significant contributor for financial savings for a college or school. It can bring in major power bills and reduce your electricity bill to as low as ZERO! Yes, imagine using solar energy to power your classrooms, hostels, canteens. Tens of hundreds of educational institutes in India are already using solar power to heat water, run laboratories, shine auditoriums, air condition the premises, or even illuminate the school grounds using solar street lights.                  
4. Low maintenance
   Solar panels are extremely low maintenance and once installed, won’t consume your time, efforts or money. Most standardised solar panels come with at least a 25 year-warranty, and even last longer in mild climates. Patanjali’s solar panels come with a 30-year warranty, the best in the industry, so that you can focus all your energy on more important aspects of an institute – like educating the future prodigies instead of worrying about your power supply.
5. Sustainability Boosts Credibility
   Being the face of the future, educational institutes have an obligation to the planet. When looking for a place of knowledge that one can trust, it ultimately becomes about how informed and credible is the institute, after all? If you’re still burning up earth’s finite fossil fuels and straining the environment through pollution and health issues, is it really in the best interest of our future generations, the very children you’re educating? The more schools and colleges move towards sustainability and renewable energy, the better their image will be in the community and the more credible sources of education, they will be.

Apart from the innumerable benefits of solar energy, luckily the schools and colleges in India can also benefit from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of 15% for solar rooftop projects built under institutional category. With all hands coming forward to create a better future for our children, it is high time schools and universities also lend their support towards India’s renewable energy movement and make the switch to solar!