By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka takes every possible step to expedite the implementation of all proposed renewable energy projects to add more power to national grid.
Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara reviewed the progress of 06 large-scale renewable energy projects at the Ministry of Power and Energy (MoPE) on Tuesday (07).
Sri Lanka government has identified over 60,000 acres of land for wind power development in the Northern Province and over 19,000 acres mainly in the North and East of the island nation for solar power plants, the latest official data showed.
The island nation has planned to have 70 percent of its energy generated from renewable energy in 2030 before being carbon neutral by 2050.
The new projects will help to generate 772 MW capacity of electricity through wind power plants and 3,863 MW from solar power plants.
Accordingly, Minister Wijesekara has instructed the officials of the ministry, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) to expedite the evaluation, approval process and the power purchase agreements to have them ready by the end of the month, subject to Environment and Land Clearance approvals.
Taking into X (formerly Twitter), the Minister assured that the proposed 06 projects will add 1,110 MW to the national grid in the next 03 years.
Meanwhile, the CEB had recently called for expressions of interest (EOI) for the construction of two 100 MW floating solar power plants on the Samanalawewa Reservoir.
Interested parties are sought for the construction of floating solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants to be installed on the reservoir, with the goal of enhancing the country’s renewable energy capacity.
This initiative is reported to be a part of a broader effort to integrate solar power with the existing hydroelectric power generation during daytime hours.
The project, which is anticipated to have a 20-year contract period, is expected to be connected to the national grid as early as possible, including all necessary components such as transmission lines and substations.
Minor solar and wind power generating projects have been adding cumulatively up to 9 percent of the total electricity demand, the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) data show.
State Minister for Power and Energy Indika Anuruddha said pending debt restructuring has delayed some renewable projects which had been in the process before Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy.
“For instance, all the projects signed under JICA, ADB, World Bank and Europe grants have been suspended until the debt restructuring discussions conclude,” he said.
Separately, Sri Lanka has planned some larger renewable power projects including $442 million worth two wind power plants by India’s Adani Green Energy Ltd.
The plan from the larger projects is to add 1,084 MW from ground solar power plants and 484 MW from wind power plants.
