Sri Lanka to Provide Solar Power to the 10pct National Grid doesn't Reach in its bid for 100pct Electrification by 2012

06th May 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka is to provide solar power for the 10 percent of homes that cannot be reached by extending the national electricity grid in its bid to ensure 100 percent electrification by 2012.

The Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal by the power and energy minister Patali Ranawaka to introduce advanced solar powered white LED (light emitting diode) lighting products, a statement said.

The LEDs will be to power the basic lighting needs of about 150,000 homes and other locations beyond the reach of the grid.

About 10 percent of homes still depend on kerosene for lighting and most are beneficiaries of the state 'Samurdhi' welfare programme, the statement said.

The project will save 1.15 billion rupees spent on kerosene a year.

Related Info :

• Solar Energy Can Free Sri Lanka's Dependence on Fossil Fuels - Kanagalingam Gnanalingam, Rtrd Additional General Manager of Ceylon Electricity Board

• Sri Lanka Non Conventional Renewable Energy Contribution to the National Grid was 6.8pct in 2010 with New Projects

• Sri Lanka Generates Power from Garbage. ‘Jaiwa Skanda’ Plans 38 Projects to Generate 259MW

Norochcholai Coal Power Complex First Phase Opened by President Adds 300 MW to the National Grid. 600MW more to be Added by 2014

23rd March 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka will add another 600 MegaWatts of capacity to the national grid by 2014, ensuring uninterrupted 24-hour power supply, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said while commissioning the country's first coal power plant.

The country is also seriously looking at alternative, clean sources of energy, not wanting to depend on a single fuel source, Power minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said.

The official commissioning of the first phase of coal power complex in Norochcholai, on the north-western coast, add 300 MW to the national grid.

The power plant, built by China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation with a 450 million US dollar loan from China’s EXIM Bank, will later be expanded to 900 MW.

Rajapaksa said power plants under construction or planned will add another 600MW of power, including the Broadlands hydro power plant and a coal power plant in north-eastern Trincomalee that is to be funded and built with Indian aid.

"We have now given electricity to 87 percent of the people," Rajapaksa said. "There's no other country in the region without power cuts. We're able to provide 24-hour uninterrupted supply."

Power minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said the new 'Lakvijaya' coal power plant will help reduce costs at the state-owned power utility, Ceylon Electricity Board.

He said it costs six rupees to generate power at the plant given the price of the last coal shipment bought by the CEB but that the new plant was still cheap compared with other fossil fuels.

"Today coal has become expensive," he said.

The government is also looking at alternative energy sources and will not rely on a single fuel or power source as had been done in the past, first with hydro power and then with fossil fuel-powered plants.

"We intend to use all sources of energy to stabilise the power sector, including clean energy sources like wind, solar, mini-hydro and geo-thermal energy."

Over half the island's total power supply now comes from clean energy sources, Ranawaka said, referring to large and small hydro-electricity power stations and wind power plants.

Image: Sri Lanka’s first ever coal power plant Lak Vijaya was declared open by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Norochcholai yesterday. Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, Deputy Power and Energy Minister Premalal Jayasekera and Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Yang Xiuping were also present. Pictures by Sudath Silva. (Image courtesy: www.dailynews.lk)

Korea Funds $50mn 500KW Solar Power Project in Hambantota, Sri Lanka

24th March 2010, www.dailynews.lk, By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The Korean Government will grant US$ 50 million to install Lanka's first 500 KW grid connected solar power generation project in Hambantota.

It will also lend money for the Gampaha sanitary waste management yard.

Korea's Ambassador Choi Kichul said their Government is also considering promoting Sri Lanka among Korean investors in solar, wind and biomass power generation, clean development mechanisms, carbon credit, solid waste management, energy efficiency and transmission lines.

He was the chief guest at a seminar on Clean Development Mechanisms organized by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority held jointly with Ecoeye of South Korea.

The Ambassador said there are also possibilities of sponsoring visitors from Sri Lanka to Korea's energy exhibitions to view latest technologies and technological developments in these sectors.

"We have an interest in assisting the Sri Lankan Government to meet the country's energy requirement by the implementation of a policy framework of increasing diversity of energy supply sectors specially in alternate technologies for better energy efficiency and utilization," he said.

He pointed out that engaging the private sector and civil society as stakeholders and partners is crucial to success of a green economy and the efforts to pursue sustainable energy.

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.

Push for Larger Solar Power Plants Connected to the National Grid by Sri Lanka's Renewable Energy Promotion Agency

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 Metering

Meanwhile 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."