This semester, a new campus group will be looking toward the sun.
Penn Solar, founded by Engineering and Wharton sophomore Viraj Kalyani, is a student group dedicated to creating a network for people on campus interested in the burgeoning solar-energy field.
The group will also offer opportunities for direct student involvement in the solar energy industry.
Kalyani first came up with the idea for the group after developing a passion for learning about solar energy.
Since the summer of 2008, he’s “been reading a lot of industry periodicals, going through websites and newsfeeds,” Kalyani said.
Kalyani also attended solar energy conferences in Munich, Germany and in Chennai and Delhi, India over the summer of 2009.
After expanding his knowledge about solar energy, Kalyani decided to start the club to gather people who share his interest.
“If I hadn’t started the club, I would not know how to find people interested in this field,” Kalyani said.
He created a website, enlisted the help of the Engineering Student Activity Council and also sent a letter to Penn President Amy Gutmann elaborating about his motivations for forming a group at Penn.
Her “encouraging response” pushed him to continue setting up the club, he said.
He envisions Penn Solar as a forum where students can discuss issues related to the solar energy field, as well as receive official “solar training.”
Kalyani hopes to partner with Infinite Solar, a Philadelphia-based company that provides training to individuals interested in working in the solar energy field.
He also said he hopes Penn Solar will eventually have chapters at schools across the country.
Part of Kalyani’s inspiration for starting the club comes from inequalities he saw in India, his native country.
“Everyone here is about China and India being the fastest growing economies, but in India, we also have a lot of inequality — most of the growth goes to urban areas,” he said.
Kalyani hopes to someday set up a solar energy business that would provide energy to rural villages, which would help to “level the playing field.”
Before the first general body meeting held in early February, Engineering sophomore Drew Martin knew “next to nothing” about the solar energy field, but said he “hopes to learn more about a very appealing industry.”
