SRI LANKA Sri Lanka has substantial potential for renewable energy resources, and the government also has given policy directives to go for high amounts of renewable energy. Solar, Wind, Biomass, and Hydro are the proven resources being commercially developed at present. With the establishment of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) which becomes the custodian of the renewable energy resources, and is the focal national entity for implementing renewable energy development programs in the country. The cabinet of ministers has approved the development of 100 MW of Siyamabalanduwa Solar Power project through private sector investment, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), which runs the national grid will build a transmission line from Ampara to Medagama to take the Power once the completion of the project. The government has set the target to achieve 70% of renewable energy in the national grid by 2030. The state minister along with SLSEA set the goal to develop sustainable energy sources in the country. In 2020, Lanka Electricity Company (LECO) and the University of Moratuwa (UoM) launched a pilot project consisting of a commercial microgrid and a research and development facility that will study renewable energy and smart grids. Earlier in March 2020, CEB was looking for proposals for 20 Solar Power projects ranging in size from 3 MW to 10 MW, the government was planning to purchase 150 MW of Solar PV Power by end of 2020, the investment in the Solar PV sector is expanding to increase the renewable capacity in the overall Power mix. The ceiling price for the tender was LKR 15.60 ($0.086)/kWh. The utility informed that 80% of the proposed tariff will be re-adjusted based on fluctuations in the exchange rate. The country has huge potential for Solar, also having more than 250 MW of planned Solar Park projects by 2026.
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The installed Solar Power capacity in the country was around 230 MW by 2020, there are many initiatives taken by the Ministry of Energy to increase Solar capacity in the country such as the introduction of micro-grid projects where grid availability is not there. Due to Covid 19, the pace of Solar PV installations has reduced, by the end of 2020, the cabinet of ministers has approved 100 MW of Solar Park at Siyamabalanduwa. The installations were slow in 2020, where the country installed just 15.5 MW of Solar PV capacity. Between 2019 and 2025, Sri Lanka aims to add 1,564 MW of total Solar PV Power capacity, in this large-scale Solar accounts for 1,034 MW, 330 MW from rooftop Solar, and 200 MW of floating Solar PV Power projects, under its Renewable Energy Development Plan Phase I 2019-2025.
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