AIIMS-Delhi to go green by harnessing new and renewable sources of energy to reduce CO2 footprint

India’s favourite medical research university and hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Delhi, took the first step towards carbon neutrality with the launch of a 9 kilowatt (kW) solar rooftop solar plant Tuesday.

Built on the terrace of the AIIMS director’s residence, the solution has been developed by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of energy and infrastructure player Jakson Group. The plant is expected to generate nearly 13,140 units per year. The company has installed its latest high-efficiency Helia series solar panels, built on the A+ category of half-cut MonoPERC solar cells, to provide a lower levelised cost of electricity (LCoE) to deliver high performance. 

“We are transforming!” an excited AIIMS-Delhi Director M Srinivas told Business Today on being asked about the development, adding, “We recognise green energy’s important role in not just improving our operational efficiency but also contributing to the greater environmental cause for Mother Earth.”

In a bid to advance sustainable healthcare practices, the institute also inked an MoU with the non-banking financial institution Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on the occasion.

“Basically, we wanted to do the energy audit here and look into what else we can have. IREDA will do the inspection before telling us where we can put up solar rooftops and where we can use biofuels using medical and other waste to generate renewable energy,” said Dr. Srinivas.

If the project is successful, it will be replicated across 22 other AIIMS campuses.

“As a diversified energy company, Jakson is firmly committed to supporting the nationwide Net Zero Mission, through a bouquet of renewable energy solutions, and our partnership with AIIMS demonstrates this commitment,” chairman & managing director of Jakson Group Sameer Gupta said in a statement.

Jakson Group has earlier worked on power backup and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects at the Nagpur, Rishikesh and Bhubaneshwar campuses of AIIMS.   

Improving healthcare delivery through technology

And it’s not just renewable energy that AIIMS is pursuing towards a 360-degree transformation. The institute is simultaneously working on new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and drones to improve healthcare delivery, with a committee already in place for the purpose.

“In artificial intelligence, once we revamp our entire digital network in view of the [November 2022] cyber security incident, we will have several artificial intelligence initiatives in the background to look into patient satisfaction and key performance indicators in a very scientific and objective manner,” Dr. Srinivas disclosed to BT.

As far as robotics is concerned, the institute was using robotic machines for treatment in the past. “We now have robotic machines for our dry and wet labs and training purposes,” informed Dr. Srinivas.

However, with the Delhi campus of the 67-year-old institute lying in the [high-security] ‘Red Zone’ as well as the air funnel of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the drone project wouldn’t get rolled out in the national capital.

“But we are planning to have a drone hub and spoke models at our National Cancer Institute in Jhajjar. We are also looking at MoU with IIT-Delhi and the Indian Institute of Science (IISC)-Bangalore to go for drones in a big way in healthcare from other campuses.

Being the most visited medical centre in the country, the outpatient department (OPD) at AIIMS-Delhi campus receives up to 15,000 footfalls a day.