Using junk material such as coconut shells, discarded telephone instruments, and wooden boxes students of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have shown how it is possible to make solar lamps for just around Rs 300. As many as 65 teams from 20 institutions participated in an inter-collegiate solar lamp design contest organised jointly by The Solarillion Initiative, a branch of the prestigious IEEE and the online renewable energy newsletter, Panchabuta.
The competition was held after a workshop organised by the three entities to familiarise engineering students with solar energy. A team from the Chennai-based B. S. AbdurRahman University won the first prize in the contest; the second and third prizes went to AalimMuhammedSalegh College of Engineering based in Vellore and Jeppiaar Engineering College. The prizes were given away by the eminent agricultural scientist and Magsaysay award winner, Dr M. S. Swaminathan, at a function held at the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai on 26 April.
The solar lamps displayed at the event showed how the lamps could be made from even junk material as long as you have the three major elements of a solar lamp – solar panel, batteries and LED lights.