Sri Lanka's First Grid-Connected Solar Power Project to be Set up in Hambantota. 500KW $50mn Project Funded by Korean Government

23rd January 2010, www.island.lk, by Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka’s first large scale grid-connected solar power project of 500 kw power generating capacity will be set up at Buruthankanda, in the Hambantota district with funds provided by the Korean Government, Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) Director General Chandana Samarasinghe said.

The Memorandum of Understanding to set up the 500kW plant was signed between the Korean and the Sri Lankan governments on Wednesday with the participation of Power and Energy Minister W. D. J. Seneviratne, Korean International Cooperation Agency Resident Representative Song Min – Hyeon, Power and Energy Ministry Secretary M. M. C. Ferdinando and SLSEA Chairman Dr. Krishan Deheragoda.

According to Samarasinghe the agent of the Korean Government would undertake the project up to the level of the grid connection.

He said that the project would function as the pathfinder for solar based power generation projects in Sri Lanka.

Being the first of its kind, the project would provide valuable knowledge required to operate a commercial scale solar power generation project and it would allay any fear of the investors about the solar (photo voltic)PV technology and drive investments in this sector.

The revenue generated from this project will be channelled to the rural electrification programme of the SLSEA which has already identified 12 rural villages for immediate implementation. Through the revenue generated, more than 100 families of the most vulnerable section of the community can be provided with a basic electricity supply every year, he added.