solar energy: revolutionizing the computer education in rural areas

This is a story published in indian express about how solar energy can help in taking computers to last mile.

Solar power takes Rajasthan schools to IT highway
PALAK NANDI

Jaipur, January 7: Dhund is a small village on the Jaipur-Delhi Highway. The government school — Rajakiya Uchch Prathmik Vidyalaya — here is like most others in Rajasthan except for one difference. In other schools the computers installed, as part of the Computer Aided Learning Programme (CALP), seldom work. In Dhund’s school, they always do. The reason: solar panels.
In a state where power cut is more of a norm than an exception, particularly in rural areas, the CALP under the Rajasthan Education Initiative (REI) is facing serious roadblocks. For, no power means computers cannot run. Complaints about power shortage have been flooding the authorities from all sides — not just from the school authorities but also from representatives of the big corporates who are partners in the REI and have set up computer labs in more than 1,000 schools.
Realising the problem, the state education department decided to generate power through solar panels to run computers and included the Dhund’s school in its pilot project. Now, happy with the success, the department is all set to install similar panels across 514 schools in all 32 districts by February-end.
The Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited (REIL) has provided the solar panels and the cost incurred is supported by the funds provided under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan by the Central Government. While the REIL will maintain them for three years, the battery comes with a 10-year free maintenance warranty.
The solar panels store the power generated in a battery bank, which in attached to the computers. The bank has enough power to run three computers for a duration of four hours each.
“The solar panel has worked wonders. Ours is probably the only school in the area where the computers are used uninterruptedly. There are several occasions when there is power cut but thanks to the panels, classes continue as scheduled. This has also led to a few parents from nearby villages getting their wards enrolled here,’’ says AK Sharma, principal of the school in Dhund.
Shagufta Bajpai, Deputy Director of REI, said Dhund was taken up as an innovative pilot project, which is now being extended to more than 500 schools across the state. “One cannot deny that there is a power crisis in the rural areas and providing them computers without a means to operate them was useless. The solar panels are just the right choice,’’ she added.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/20357.html