Earth
How IIT Kanpur is Paving the Way for a Solar-Powered Future in India’s Energy Transition
At IIT Kanpur, an ambitious solar energy project is reshaping the way India approaches renewable energy. By integrating solar power with smart grids and energy storage, the project aims to make communities more energy-independent and sustainable

The narrow roads within IIT Kanpur’s campus wind through a vibrant residential neighbourhood, where compact, beautifully designed homes house the staff. Above these homes, solar panels gleam in the sunlight—not merely as an aesthetic feature, but as a symbol of a much larger energy transformation underway. This gleam reflects a bold vision for India’s energy future, one that’s driven by solar power, smart technology, and community participation.
At the heart of this transformation is IIT Kanpur, located in India’s Uttar Pradesh, lighting the way toward an energy future powered by clean, renewable energy. With innovation as its cornerstone, IIT Kanpur is shaping a new model of energy independence for India—a model that could be replicated across the country.
The spark of change
In 2017, the Indo-US partnership, known as the US-India Collaborative for Smart Distribution System with Storage (UI-ASSIST), was launched, bringing together top institutions from both countries. Led by Washington State University in the U.S. and IIT Kanpur in India, the partnership also includes IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, IIT Bhubaneswar, and TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute). Their collective goal: to create scalable, sustainable solutions for integrating renewable energy into India’s power grid. “This new consortium demonstrates the U.S. and India’s commitment to ensuring access to affordable and reliable energy in both countries,” said then-U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry. “We know that continued grid innovation will foster economic growth and enhance energy security in both the United States and India.”
IIT Kanpur’s residential area has become a testing ground for this vision. Out of the 51 homes in residential lanes 32 and 33, 30 houses were selected based on a shadow analysis survey. These homes have been equipped with 5kWp Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems and state-of-the-art smart meters, turning residents into active energy producers. This transformation was part of a larger vision to create a microgrid capable of providing energy independence to the community.

A model of solar empowerment
Imagine this: families, once entirely dependent on the grid, now waking up to homes powered by the sun. “In Lane 32, 12 of the 21 homes are now powered by solar energy, while 18 out of 30 homes in Lane 33 have solar PV installations,” says Shiv Kumar Singh, Research Establishment Officer at IIT Kanpur’s Department of Electrical Engineering.

These homes are no longer passive consumers. With 5 kW of solar capacity, they actively contribute to the energy network, providing power to the grid and helping to reduce the community’s overall carbon footprint. For IIT Kanpur, this project is more than just an experiment—it’s a proof of concept for how solar energy can be scaled beyond cities and industries and into residential communities.
The hidden power: Energy storage and control
At the core of this experiment lies a powerful duo: energy storage and smart management. According to Shiv Kumar Singh, the project integrates two centralized lithium-ion battery storage systems—one with a 140 kWh capacity and another with 100 kWh. These systems store excess solar energy generated during the day and return it to the grid during the evening, when the sun sets.
But it doesn’t stop there. The project is made even smarter by the use of data. Smart meters, installed throughout the system, constantly collect data on energy consumption. This data is fed into a SCADA control center, where it’s analyzed in real-time to optimize energy usage and ensure the grid operates as efficiently as possible. This intelligent, data-driven approach maximizes every watt of energy generated and consumed.

Driving the future of clean transportation
As solar energy begins to power homes, another puzzle piece is being put in place: clean transportation. At IIT Kanpur, two new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations have been set up near the main gate and the nearby Community Centre. These stations are equipped with a variety of chargers, including 50kW DC fast chargers, 22kW AC chargers, and 7.6kW Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) chargers, integrated with a 25kW solar PV array.
This isn’t just about charging vehicles; it’s about creating a self-sustaining ecosystem where transportation and energy generation are interconnected. By using clean energy to charge electric vehicles, IIT Kanpur is contributing to a future where urban mobility is powered by renewable resources, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of transportation.
Smart and sustainable: The microgrid revolution
The centerpiece of this entire initiative is the microgrid, which is controlled and optimized by a sophisticated Microgrid Controller. This technology ensures that energy is distributed efficiently among solar PV systems, storage units, and EV charging stations, keeping everything balanced and functioning smoothly. Thanks to real-time data analysis from the smart meters and SCADA center, the system isn’t just reactive—it’s proactive, learning from its environment and optimizing energy use as it goes.
Urban field demonstration pilot at IIT Kanpur
With growing urban energy demands, India faces a unique set of challenges. Multi-story buildings, high air-conditioning loads, and reliance on Diesel Generators (DGs) for backup power add significant strain to the grid and contribute to pollution. IIT Kanpur is tackling these issues head-on with two groundbreaking sub-pilots that demonstrate innovative energy solutions.

The first sub-pilot features a small, grid-connected microgrid designed to supply energy to two multi-story residential towers. By integrating Solar PV systems and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), this project reduces the reliance on DGs and provides a more sustainable, reliable energy source. During power outages, BESS ensures uninterrupted power for essential services, such as lifts and lighting in common areas.
The second sub-pilot showcases the potential of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system, which, inaugurated in November 2020, help reduce peak air-conditioning loads. By storing cool energy during off-peak hours, TES systems cut energy consumption during peak demand times. This system has already been installed at IIT Kanpur’s Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, where a 775 TRHR TES system is actively reducing air-conditioning loads, further enhancing energy efficiency.
The environmental impact
IIT Kanpur’s approach goes beyond technology; it’s about creating lasting environmental and social benefits. By integrating TES and solar PV systems, the initiative not only reduces peak load but also cuts carbon emissions, contributing to India’s carbon-neutral goals. The integration of BESS ensures that the urban microgrid remains reliable even during power outages, helping foster long-term sustainability.
The 775 TRHR TES system at the Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering plays a key role in reducing the building’s air-conditioning demand. By using phase change materials with glycol solution as the coolant, it absorbs off-peak energy to cool the building during peak periods, leading to significant energy savings.
According to a research paper (2022) by Suresh Chandra Srivastava, Sameer Khandekar, Shiv Kumar Singh, Vinay Kumar Tiwari, and Ankush Sharma from IIT Kanpur, this system has led to a reduction in peak load energy consumption, as verified through data recorded by the SCADA system monitoring the Institute’s power distribution network. By discharging during peak hours and charging during off-peak hours, the system helps reduce peak load and offers potential cost savings, as electricity costs are higher during peak times.

This technology has the potential for widespread adoption in smart cities and data centers across India, further advancing the country’s renewable energy vision.
Shaping India’s renewable energy future
India’s goal of achieving 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with a significant portion coming from solar, is ambitious but increasingly attainable with projects like IIT Kanpur’s. With nearly 40% of solar PV installations expected to be on rooftops connected to the distribution network, initiatives like this one are essential for meeting the country’s renewable energy targets.
By demonstrating how solar energy, energy storage, and sustainable infrastructure can be integrated at the community level, IIT Kanpur is not just building a model for India—it’s creating a blueprint for the world. As the world shifts towards a cleaner, more sustainable future, IIT Kanpur is leading the way.
(This story is produced as part of the Internews Earth Journalism Network’s Science Communicators Workshop on renewable energy)
Earth
Glaciers Are Dying: Global Conference in Tajikistan Sounds Alarm on Looming Water Crisis
Glaciers currently store about 70% of the world’s freshwater. Their meltwater sustains hundreds of millions downstream during the dry season

The accelerating disappearance of the world’s glaciers—often called the “water towers” of our planet—is now a full-blown global emergency, warned experts and leaders gathered in Tajikistan for the International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation. Underway in Dushanbe from 29 May to 1 June in Dushanbe, the event has brought together heads of state, UN officials, scientists, and development partners in a clarion call to put glacier protection at the top of the global climate agenda.
“Glaciers preservation is not just a problem of countries with glaciers but rather a global crisis that deserves the immediate attention of the international community,” said Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon in his opening address.
The urgency is clear. According to a statement issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), five of the past six years have seen the most rapid glacier retreat on record. Glaciers are now the second largest contributor to sea-level rise after ocean warming.
“Our glaciers are dying,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. “The death of a glacier means much more than the loss of ice. It is a mortal blow to our ecosystems, economies, and social fabric.”
Recent disasters highlight the stakes. Just this week, a glacier collapse in the Swiss Alps unleashed a torrent of ice and debris that buried parts of the village of Blatten. Early warnings prevented fatalities—but many developing nations lack such systems. “We need to bridge science and services, and forecasts and action,” Saulo urged.

The conference will culminate in the release of the Dushanbe Glaciers Declaration, a strategic document outlining commitments and partnerships to be presented at COP30 in Brazil later this year. It is a key milestone in the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed cited devastating findings from the WMO’s latest climate report. “2021 to 2024 represents the most negative three-year glacier mass balance period on record,” she said, pointing out that glaciers have lost over 9,000 billion tons of ice since 1975—equivalent to an ice block the size of Germany, 25 meters thick.
Glaciers currently store about 70% of the world’s freshwater. Their meltwater sustains hundreds of millions downstream during the dry season. But that lifeline is fading. In the Himalayas, a 2023 report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) warned that the region could lose up to two-thirds of its glaciers by 2100. Tajikistan alone has lost nearly 30% of its glaciers over the last century.
The Vanj Yakh Glacier (formerly Fedchenko), the largest continental glacier, has retreated by over 1 km and shrunk by 44 km²—enough to fill 6.4 million Olympic swimming pools.
“Melting glaciers threaten lives on an unprecedented scale – including the livelihoods of more than 2 billion people in Asia alone,” said Asian Development Bank Vice-President Yingming Yang. “ADB is committed to helping the region adapt and transition to clean energy without compromising development.”
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay highlighted the cultural and ecological loss as well. “In 2022, a UNESCO study found that glaciers in one third of world heritage sites are projected to disappear by 2050,” she said. “It is a stark reminder of the need for bold and immediate climate action.”
Key conference themes include scientific monitoring, water cooperation, and adaptation investment. The message is clear: the world cannot afford to lose its glaciers—or the freshwater, stability, and security they provide.
As Celeste Saulo put it: “Observing, predicting, and effectively communicating glacier changes are vital to mitigating their impacts on people, economies, and ecosystems.”
Earth
Researchers Unveil SeaSplat: A New Imaging Tool That Reveals True Colours of Underwater Worlds
The new tool, called SeaSplat, corrects for optical distortions like light scattering and colour fading, offering marine biologists a powerful new way to explore and monitor ocean ecosystems

Scientists at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have developed a novel imaging technique that effectively “removes” water from underwater scenes, revealing the true colours of marine environments. The new tool, called SeaSplat, corrects for optical distortions like light scattering and colour fading, offering marine biologists a powerful new way to explore and monitor ocean ecosystems.
“One dream of underwater robotic vision that we have is: Imagine if you could remove all the water in the ocean. What would you see?” said John Leonard, MIT professor of mechanical engineering, in a media statement.
Traditionally, capturing the real appearance of underwater scenes has been difficult due to two main challenges: backscatter, which creates a cloudy haze by reflecting light off tiny ocean particles, and attenuation, which causes certain colors to fade with distance. SeaSplat overcomes both by analyzing how each pixel in an image is affected and correcting for those effects.
“With SeaSplat, it can model explicitly what the water is doing, and as a result it can in some ways remove the water, and produces better 3D models of an underwater scene,” said Daniel Yang, an MIT graduate student and co-developer of the tool.
SeaSplat combines a colour-correcting algorithm with a 3D imaging technique known as 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) to generate immersive, high-fidelity, virtual environments from underwater photographs. The results are detailed three-dimensional models that retain accurate color no matter the viewing angle or distance.
The researchers tested SeaSplat using imagery from a variety of ocean locations, including the Caribbean, the Red Sea, the Pacific near Panama, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In each case, SeaSplat produced vivid, true-color 3D environments that could be virtually navigated.
“Once it generates a 3D model, a scientist can just ‘swim’ through the model as though they are scuba-diving, and look at things in high detail, with real color,” Yang said in the statement.
Marine scientists could soon use this technology to monitor sensitive environments such as coral reefs. Traditional cameras often misrepresent signs of distress like coral bleaching, but SeaSplat’s color-accurate imaging could change that.
“Bleaching looks white from close up, but could appear blue and hazy from far away, and you might not be able to detect it,” noted Yogesh Girdhar, a WHOI associate scientist. “Coral bleaching, and different coral species, could be easier to detect with SeaSplat imagery, to get the true colors in the ocean.”
Although the current version of SeaSplat requires significant computing power and is too bulky to run onboard an autonomous underwater vehicle, it is well-suited for tethered operations where data can be transmitted to a ship-based computer in real time.
“This is the first approach that can very quickly build high-quality 3D models with accurate colors, underwater, and it can create them and render them fast,” Girdhar said. “That will help to quantify biodiversity, and assess the health of coral reef and other marine communities.”
Yang, Girdhar, and Leonard will present their work at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).
Earth
122 Forests, 3.2 Million Trees: How One Man Built the World’s Largest Miyawaki Forest
Meet the man who has created 122 forests—including the world’s largest Miyawaki ecosystem. His 3.2 million trees are cooling Indian cities, reviving water tables, and restoring biodiversity.

In an era when deforestation and climate change threaten ecosystems worldwide, one man from Gujarat—a state on the west coast of India—is rewriting the narrative of environmental restoration.
Dr. Radhakrishnan Nair, fondly known as Nairji, has created 122 forests across India, transforming barren landscapes into thriving ecosystems. His most remarkable achievement, Smritivan (a memorial forest) in Gujarat—recognized as the world’s largest Miyawaki forest—stands as a testament to his vision. Spanning 470 acres and home to over 500,000 trees, this forest is not just a memorial but a beacon of ecological hope. Nair’s work demonstrates how one individual’s determination can combat global warming, restore biodiversity, and inspire communities to embrace a greener future.

From entrepreneur to green crusader
Born in Kasaragod, Kerala, R.K. Nair’s path to becoming India’s “Green Hero” was anything but conventional. After failing his 12th-grade exams, he took on a series of odd jobs, eventually rising to become a successful entrepreneur in the garment industry. But a pivotal moment came in 2011, in Umargam, Gujarat, when he witnessed the felling of 179 ancient trees for road construction. The cries of displaced birds and the destruction of their habitat struck a deep chord.
“I felt the birds were speaking to me,” Nair recalls. “That day, I vowed to create forests where no one would harm them.”
This epiphany led to the founding of Forest Creators with his friend Deepan Jain in 2014. Using corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, Nair began planting trees—starting with 1,500 saplings on a single acre. Today, he has planted over 3.2 million trees across 12 Indian states—from Gujarat to Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan to Uttar Pradesh. His approach blends the Japanese Miyawaki method, known for rapid and dense forest growth, with a localized adaptation he calls Bharatavanam, tailored to India’s diverse ecosystems.
Smritivan: A green miracle in the Desert
Nair’s crowning achievement is Smritivan, a sprawling forest in Bhuj, Gujarat, established in memory of the 13,805 victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. Originally conceived in 2004 but long stalled, the project gained new life when Nair took charge. Despite the 470-acre terrain being arid and hilly, he began planting in July 2021. “By August 2022, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the memorial, the forest had reached an astonishing 16 feet in height, with 223,555 saplings planted in the first phase alone. Today, Smritivan houses over 525,000 trees, with plans to add 40,000 more,” Nair says, in an interview with EdPublica.
A report from the Gujarat Ecology Commission, accessed by EdPublica, highlights Smritivan’s ecological transformation. Now home to 117 tree species, the forest supports 79 bird species, 28 types of butterflies, 21 reptiles, nine mammals, and two species of fish. The dense canopy and mulched soil prevent erosion, retain moisture, and enrich the land with organic matter. “With an 86% tree survival rate, species like neem and casuarina are flourishing,” according to the report published in 2023.

The forest has also led to localized temperature reductions, while its 50 check dams help replenish groundwater. A one-megawatt solar plant further bolsters its sustainability, making Smriti Van a global model of eco-restoration.
A report from the Gujarat Ecology Commission, accessed by EdPublica, highlights Smritivan’s ecological transformation. Now home to 117 tree species, the forest supports 79 bird species, 28 types of butterflies, 21 reptiles, nine mammals, and two species of fish
Industrialist Anand Mahindra recently shared a viral post on X, praising Nair for building the world’s largest Miyawaki forest.
Ecological impact: Restoring balance
Nair’s forests are more than green patches—they are ecological engines. “In Chhattisgarh, the coastal forest of 103,000 trees raised groundwater levels dramatically—from 160 feet to just 12 feet—reviving wells and sustaining communities,” Nair claims. Across India, his forests have restored biodiversity, attracted wildlife, and helped rebuild natural food chains.
The Gujarat Ecology Commission underscores Smriti Van’s role in carbon sequestration, a vital tool against climate change. Experts recommend ongoing assessments to quantify its carbon storage potential, which could significantly offset emissions.
Nair’s method ensures long-term ecological success. He doesn’t merely plant trees—he nurtures ecosystems. By selecting native species suited to local conditions, his forests are resilient and sustainable. They grow 10 times faster than natural forests, mimicking 150-year-old ecosystems in just 10–15 years. Dense planting (3–4 saplings per square meter) encourages vertical growth, mimicking natural competition for sunlight.
A Vision for the future
Nair’s ambition is bold: planting one billion trees by 2030. Backed by governments, corporations, and citizens, Forest Creators is scaling up to meet this audacious goal. His work has earned international acclaim, including an invitation to represent India at a NASA conference and a UNESCO Prix Versailles award for Smritivan.
Yet, Nair remains grounded—dressed in his signature white mundu, shirt, and cap—a nod to his Malayali roots and the spirit of India’s farmers.
Beyond ecology, Nair’s forests are also community spaces. Smriti Van has become a popular destination for its tranquil trails and vibrant festivals, with 94% of surveyed visitors citing its fresh air and peacefulness. Future plans include guided tours and educational programs to engage youth in environmental stewardship.
A Global inspiration
R.K. Nair’s story is a clarion call for individual action in the face of global crises. His 122 forests—especially the monumental Smritivan—showcase what one person’s vision and persistence can achieve. By restoring biodiversity, cooling urban climates, and sequestering carbon, Nair’s work supports global efforts to fight climate change. As he marches toward his billion-tree goal, he reminds us that a single seed, planted with purpose, can grow into a forest of change.
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