IIT-Madras to play pivotal role in solar project
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The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) will integrate the efforts of all the other IITs involved in the much-awaited national programme, Solar Thermal Project. The three-year Rs 15 crore project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, aims to use solar energy to find solutions to India's energy problems. T Sundararajan, head, department of mechanical engineering at IIT-M, is coordinating the project. He said that two years ago, all IITs were asked to present their proposals on energy generation. Expert committees were set up and feasibility studies conducted on the proposals, after which the project, divided into three parts has been sanctioned to different IITs, he said. The foundation stone of the project was laid at Thirukalukundram. Prof. Sundararajan, along with Srinivasa Reddy, another professor from IIT-M and Prof RP Saini from IIT-Roorkee, are involved in the first part of the project, which is the establishment of a pilot solar thermal power generation system.