12th December 2009, www.lankabusinessonline.com, By Anushika Kamburugamuwa
Sri Lanka's renewable energy promotion agency is in a new drive to push larger solar power plants connected to the national grid in Sri Lanka though the technology is still relatively expensive.In rural Sri Lanka small off-grid plants are being sold by a number of private firms and solar hot water systems are also being used in grid connected buildings.
Sunny Isle"Sri Lanka considered as a solar hot spot due to many reasons," says Harsha Wickramasinghe, deputy director general of Sri Lanka's sustainable energy authority.
"One is the good radiation level available in the country. And we are far ahead compared to other countries using solar electricity for rural areas.
"To this date there are about 106,000 solar power systems in Sri Lanka."
The authority has standardized power purchase contracts (SPPA) for hydro and wind plant operators of under 10 MegaWatts. Under the contract the operators can sell power to the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board, the grid operator.
"There are many investors coming to see us trying to develop grid tied solar power system projects," says Wickramasinghe.
"That is you directly export energy to the CEB national grid. But unfortunately the technologies considered for that scheme under 10MW scheme does not includes solar energy as yet.
"But we have consulted certain analysis and found out solar power energy is expensive compare to other technologies like hydro power and wind power."
For small renewable plants a 20 year SPPA is given on a three tier structure. For the initial stage the developer is paid about 24 rupees a kilowatt hour or a unit of electricity for wind and 15 rupees for hydro. From year nine it falls.
From year 16 onwards after the capital costs is recovered a royalty will be paid by the buyer to the state. Wickramasinghe says wind operators will get about 22 rupees a unit on average.
Solar Costs"For solar power lowest we can imagine it will be some where around 35 rupees," he says.
"But if you take the plant factor and the capital cost of solar power projects it is much above that. About 80 rupees per kiloWatt hour will be required to break even."
"But some developers are claiming that they can come around 35 rupees and even lower if the government is agreeable."
Critics say other than hydro most renewable energy sources are pushed to the people through powerful 'clean energy' lobbies. Tax payer money is used to subsidize renewable energy technology firms.
But other than dendro (wood) energy, most renewable energy sources do not emit pollutants.
Meanwhile cheaper thermal energy such as hydrocarbons are taxed at several stages pushing up their final cost.
Wickramasinghe says the authority is establishing a solar energy park in Hambantota, an arid area with low rainfall in Sri Lanka's southern coast.
"We will have closer to one MegaWatt of capacity up and running during next year," he says.
"So, after that we will conduct an evaluation of the solar resources in the country and then decide on a deployment calendar."
A recent government statement said that a 400 kiloWatt wind plant will be set up in Hambantota with a Japanese grant.
Net MeteringMeanwhile efforts are underway set up a net metering system where grid connected customers who have solar power units will be able to export power to the grid during daytime and deduct it from their bills.
"We have taken initiative to introduce net metering in Sri Lanka, that is a roof top system where people who can afford solar power system can have a roof top solar system," says Wickramasinghe.
"Presently it is available in the LECO (Lanka Electricity Company) served areas and it will be available in the CEB areas too."
"And you can export energy during the day time to the national grid and consume some of it during the night and the CEB or the LECO will act as an energy bank.
"So no money transaction will be there. But utility will show a reduced amount."
The company says its newly built Denawaka Ganga Mini Hydro Power Project carries a total capacity of 7.2 MegaWatts .
To date 30 Megawatts of wind power plants are in successful operation in the country.
building more mini-hydro and wind power plants but needs more technology transfer to ensure better use of renewable energy, officials said.
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.
solar power energy could now be sold to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) as a pilot project of the Net metering system, Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday.
minimum of 12 units, Minister Ranawaka said. The net metering system in place at the house of industrialist B.A. Mahipala is the first of its kind and was done at a cost of Rs. 17 lakhs, the Ministry said.
district with a total investment of Rs 2.3 billion.
g electricity making use of the strong gust of winds from the Indian Ocean.
of the company, a unit of the Hemas Holdings group, fell five percent to 729 million rupees owing to lower thermal power revenue, a stock exchange filing said.
11 percent reduction in revenue at Heladhanavi," Hemas Power managing director Kishan Nanayakkara said.
r sectors which accounted for 65 percent of foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka in recent years will play a less dominant role as cash pours into leisure with an upturn in tourism, an official said.
istilleries Company, said it was spending 750 million rupees to by into a 4 MegaWatt hydro power plant in a tea plantation which is an associate firm in its group. Bogo Power Pvt Ltd, will be built on Kirkoswals estate in the Bogowantalawa area in Sri Lanka's central hill region.
apaksa ceremoniously opened the final stage of Kerawalapitiya Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant today adding another 100 mega watts of power to the national grid.
growing at 8% annually and the Ceylon Electricity Board hopes to meet this demand with the assistance of the Kerawalapitiya Power Plant.