CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s Green School Scheme is delivering measurable reductions in electricity consumption while the State expands passive cooling solutions such as cool roofs and shaded classrooms to reduce heat stress among students, an impact study has found.
Designed to turn campuses into “living laboratories” for climate literacy, the programme is implemented by the Department of Environment and Climate Change under the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission.
An impact study submitted by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) said the scheme is now being rolled out in 297 schools across multiple phases, supported by the UNEP Cool Coalition under the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation funded BeCool Project.
The study evaluated implementation in 97 schools under Phase 1 and Phase 2.
The scheme integrates rooftop solar panels, rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation, waste segregation and composting, along with green spaces such as kitchen, medicinal and fruit gardens.
While its core aim is climate learning and behavioural change, the programme is also delivering “tangible resource efficiency gains”, the study found.
A quantitative analysis of electricity bills from 49 schools showed an average 46% reduction in grid electricity use after rooftop solar installation, with monthly consumption dropping from 607.7 kWh to 328 kWh per school.
The average annual grid savings were estimated at 3,572 kWh, translating to about Rs 26,000 per school per year, in addition to roughly 1,350 kWh of solar generation valued at around Rs 4,700 annually.
At Government Higher Secondary School in TN Palayam, Erode, the study recorded that bimonthly electricity consumption fell from an average of 325 units before solar installation to about 60 units after, amounting to a 50–60% reduction.
