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Departing from tradition, the Trinity College Kandy (TCK) Batch of 92 celebrated its 25th anniversary since leaving Trinity by taking over the responsibility of converting the entire school’s energy supply to solar power. This is perhaps the first time a 100 % conversion amongst schools has been completed in Sri Lanka.
The project was conceptualized, implemented and co-funded with the college and inaugurated on 12 August 2017 as the first-ever renewable solar energy project at TCK, which was founded in 1872.
The project was inaugurated by the Principal of TCK, Mr Andrew Fowler Watt in April 2017 and completed. A special service of dedication for the renewable energy project was held at the Trinity College chapel on 12th August 2017, which was followed by the official inauguration of the project with the attendance of over 120 members of the TCK 92 batch accompanied by their families.
Eraj Rajapakse, Chairman of the TCK renewable energy project – of the batch of 92 said “We are extremely delighted that all our efforts as a batch is paying off. During the initial phase the school has seen a sharp decline in its cost of electricity and within three months the project was able to generate surplus power. We hope these savings will be used for the betterment of other areas of need of Trinity and hope the project will inculcate the importance of battling climate change and reversing its effects for generations to come at Trinity”
T Shankar, President of TCK Batch of 92 stated “It was a privilege to contribute to Trinity – our alma mater that has given us so much in our school life. The project will see benefits in the longer term and the committee worked very hard for three years to make this project a reality. Batchmates both here and abroad contributed time and energy and financing to make this project a reality and my thanks go out to each and everyone who contributed. We hope Trinity College will be an example to other schools as a thought leader and an institution that is taking bold steps to contribute to a greener planet”
Further, over 36 teachers of Trinity both current and past, including former Principal Lt Col. Leonard De Alwis and the past vice principals Colin Ratnayake and Paul Jeyraj were special invitees to the occasion and was followed by a Gala dinner dance at Grand Kandyan Hotel with over 200 guests in attendance.
By generating 100kWh of electricity, sufficient for the entire current power requirement of the school, the future cost of power at Trinity will be significantly reduced thanks to this ground-breaking project. The estimated payback period of the project is four and a half years and will have a long-term warranty period of 25 years.
The batch of 1992 alumni are a diverse and well-networked set of old boys and boasts of producing some of the leading experts in fields of Medicine, Law, IT, Finance & Business and Marketing and leading entrepreneurs that contribute to their own fields both globally and in Sri Lanka. The batch hopes the savings made through this initiative will be released to provide much-needed support on other key development activities of the school but more importantly this is the first and most important step towards making Trinity College a carbon-neutral educational institution
The project was installed and managed by First Energy SL (PVT) Ltd
