Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Power as an Alternative Renewable Energy Resource for NMIT Campus - A Case Study

Abstract

The study presented describes the proposal for a Solar Rooftop Power System for NMIT Campus, located on 13°7′45.0″N 77°35′13.4″E latitude and longitude respectively, comparing the cost of initial investment for different types of panels, in order to make the campus completely independent of external power supply and power sustainable. Solar power provision was made for a limited area on the NMIT Campus (scenario in 2017). NMIT was more reliant on BESCOM - Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Karnataka, India) for its daily power consumption of nearly 350 kW. The power demand includes all of the consumptions, including the laboratories of various departments during day time. As a result, the current project work was undertaken to prepare a detailed power audit and suggest an alternative renewable resource power system to make NMIT campus sustainable in terms of total dependency on solar power system. The total daily power demand of various needs is calculated using BESCOM bills from 2012 to 2016. The average power demand is calculated, extrapolated for future needs and a suitable type of solar panel is proposed to produce solar power, to meet the power demand of entire campus for various uses. The 3D model of NMIT Campus is created with the Google Sketchup software tool and power generation from various panels, its orientations was planned in order to determine the best orientation for maximum efficiency. After analyzing the data, the most economical, cost-effective and energy-efficient type of solar rooftop power plant to make the campus green in terms of power usage is proposed. It was concluded (in 2016) that the power demand then was 350kW per day, and the extrapolated power requirement was 400kW in 2017 to 2020. The cost of generating solar power using various panels ranges from 152 to 196 lakhs (in 2016), depending on the type of panels to be used. However, the type of panel chosen is determined by a number of factors, including efficiency, panel weight and maintenance costs. A photovoltaic power plant for a more sustainable NMIT campus can be installed and more power can be generated by removing all obstructions from the roof top. The Government of India, through the Ministry of New Renewable Energy (MNRE), provides subsidies to encourage the installation and generation of a self-sustained solar power plant on campus in accordance with the standards, and the NMIT campus becomes energy independent.