Researchers in Gujarat have harnessed the energy of bullocks to generate electricity for 24 villages in Vadodara district. Under this innovative method, four bullocks are yoked on to a shaft, which rotates as they move around it. The shaft is connected to a gear-box which turns underground shafts, overground freewheels and a sm4ll generator. The generator is connected to a% power board and batteries from where power lines are drawn. The cost of producing electricity in this manner is much lower than other non-conventional energy sources. It costs no more than Rs four per unit, as against Rs 1,000 per unit generated from solar power or Rs 40 per unit, from windmills. The project is sponsored by the Shroff Foundation, an NGO based in Kalali. Its researchers claimed that if 8,000 bullocks are deployed in the project, around 2,500 kilowatts of electricity could be produced per day.
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