More renewable electricity to enrich national grid

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) has been invigorated to go on with the master plan for achieving the target of sharing the national grid with 70 percent of renewable electricity resulting from the enforcement of Electricity Act (amendment) No. 16 of 2022, by 2030.

SLSEA Chairman Ranjith Sepala told the Daily News that Minister Kanchana Wijesekara has instructed the Authority to work in collaboration with the CEB to add a minimum of 2,550 MW renewable electricity to the national grid during the period 2023 – 2026.

“Up to 2023 we had been able to connect 1,600 MW of renewable energy capacity to the grid and endeavouring to reach the target to be fulfilled by 2030, with having given priority to six major renewable energy generation projects,” Sepala said.

According to him these major projects are, 150 MW of solar to be completed by end of this year, and will be the largest solar capacity being connected to the system. Also 100 MW of solar project at Siyambalanduwa for which tenders have already awarded and this project once completed by the end of 2025 will generate a total of energy 200 GWh annually. One hundred MW solar project at Oddamavadi in Batticaloa which will be connected to the national grid in 2024/ 2025 and 50 MW of solar project at Sampoor is under construction.

Apart from the solar project, a 234 MW wind power project at Poonaryn will be activated to enable it to supply a total energy of 804 GWh per year next year. In addition to this with regard to 250 MW of wind project at Mannar, EIA part has. The SLSEA chairman said that through this project a total energy of 1,025 GWh yearly will be released to the national system in mid-2025. He emphasized that by 2030 it is planned to connect 5,800 MW of renewable energy to the national grid.

It is learnt that adhering to the Power Wheeling concept arrangements are being finalized to construct a 500 KW solar generation plant in Hambantota and the SLSEA has entered in to an agreement with the Ceylon Electricity (Pvt) Ltd. in last October. The Ceylon Electricity (Pvt) Ltd. is entrusted with the construction component and networking will be completed by the end of this year.

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