Rooftop solar installations at Tamil Nadu’s ‘Green Schools’ have reduced grid electricity consumption by about 46 per cent per school, saving an average of around 3,572 units annually, according to an impact study released on Monday.

The report was released by Finance and Environment Minister Thangam Thennarasu and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. The study was prepared in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and unveiled at the launch of the state government’s Climate Education and Cool Roof initiatives across 300 ‘Green Schools’.

The Green Schools programme has been scaled up from 25 pilot schools to 300 government schools across multiple phases, covering almost all districts in the state. The study, conducted across 97 schools, found that each school saved roughly Rs 0.026 million annually in electricity costs, in addition to the benefits of on-site solar generation. Nearly half of the participating schools have also implemented structured climate awareness programmes for students.

The study estimates that if the model is extended to all government schools, electricity savings could offset up to 91 per cent of the current power consumption of government and aided educational institutions and hospitals.

Alongside the report release, the state operationalised climate education initiatives under the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission. A ‘Training of Teachers’ module on climate education was launched, along with a certified residential training programme for school teachers. The programme aims to train 4,000 teachers from all 38 districts as volunteer climate ambassadors, with at least 50 per cent drawn from government and aided schools. The first residential training batch of 210 teachers is scheduled to begin in Salem on January 20.

The government has also expanded its Cool Roof initiative to tackle rising heat stress in classrooms. Many concrete-roofed schools record indoor temperatures of 38–40°C during summer, adversely affecting student comfort and learning outcomes. A pilot project at the Punthalaivar Kamarajar Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ambattur, Chennai, recorded an average reduction of 3–4°C in indoor classroom temperatures and a 4–5°C drop in ceiling surface temperatures, bringing classroom temperatures down to around 27°C during school hours.

As part of the wider rollout, cool roofs were inaugurated at Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School in Shenoy Nagar and Chennai Higher Secondary School in Thiruvanmiyur. Green School certificates were awarded to the Kamarajar school in Ambattur and the Kollumedu Government Higher Secondary School in Tiruvallur district.

Two additional publications were also released, including one developed with the United Nations Environment Programme on scaling passive cooling in schools, and another outlining design strategies such as shading, ventilation and greening to improve thermal comfort and reduce energy demand. Senior officials from environment, education and research bodies were present at the event.