Sri Lanka LOLC Invests in Dendro and Mini Hydro Plants

03rd September 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka's LOLC group has bought into a wood fired or dendro power plant which is expected to be commissioned and connected to the national power grid in late 2011 and was also investing in 14 mini-hydro plants.

LOLC said it had acquired a 75 percent state in United Dendro Energy (Pvt) Ltd, which is building a 4 MegaWatt wood fired plant.

"A project of this magnitude faces risk in sourcing adequate raw material, which we are mitigating by having our own plantation of gliricidia," deputy chairman Ishara Nanayakkara told shareholders in the annual report.

"Land has been indentified for this purpose and the project is in its design stage with the expectation of commissioning by end-2011."

LOLC said it was also investing in 14 mini-hydropower projects to be built in Maturata and Pussellawa plantations firms at a cost of 30 million US dollars. The group had invested in the two estate firms through its unit, Browns Investments Ltd.

The mini-hydro plants will have a capacity of 27MegaWatts.

Puseellawa Plantations already had two working hydro plants with a capacity of 3.2 MegaWatts.

The two plants were already earning carbon credits. LOLC has also commissioned a 58kiloWatt solar array at its head office building that will supply 15 percent of the building's energy.