Sri Lanka surpasses 200MW of solar capacity
Sri Lanka has reached more than 200MW of installed solar capacity, closing in on its target of 1GW by 2025.
To celebrate the milestone, the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy organised a ceremony in Kotte.
The achievement was partly driven by the accelerated solar rooftop programme, known as ‘Soorya Bala Sangramaya’ (Battle for Solar Energy), which was initiated on 6 September 2016. This is now being implemented by the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy (MoPRE), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA). The programme aims to deploy micro solar power plants in one million houses throughout the country, with solar panels being provided at concessionary rates. It is targeting 200MW of installations by 2020.
CEB recently permitted 90 small-scale solar projects under the second stage of the Soorya Bala Sangramaya Programme.
Earlier this year, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers also approved plans to build a hybrid renewable energy park including 240MW of wind and 800MW of solar.