By Uwin Lugoda
The Government is getting closer to its goal of running a more energy-efficient Sri Lanka, having completed the first screening process of private investors for its 50 MW renewable power plants project.
According to the State Ministry of Solar Power, Wind, and Hydro Power Generation Project Development Secretary K.H.D.K. Samarakoon, the proposals received initially have already been discussed. As such, he stated that in the coming week the Ministry would seek out Cabinet approval for the calling of Request For Proposals (RFP) from these applicants.
“The proposals we received last year have already been discussed and prioritised. Next week we will request Cabinet approval to call for RFPs,” Samarakoon told The Sunday Morning.
The initiative which received Cabinet approval last year is aimed at supplementing the country’s goal of sourcing 70% of its power via renewable sources by 2030. The Government then released a gazette calling for proposals from private sector investors willing to invest in renewable energy plant projects that could generate 50 MW or more clean energy for the island.
According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka (SEA), this call for proposals saw an impressive response from both local and international investors for the developments.
“We invited investors through an Expression of Interest to develop renewable power plants with a capacity of 50 MW or more. The call went out in September 2021 and we set the deadline as 15 November 2021. During that period we received more than 100 proposals to develop these renewable energy projects at various capacities,” said SEA Director General Dr. Sulakshana Jayawardena.
He stated that some of these project proposals had been submitted with investors having already secured land or having indicated the lands they required. He noted that multiple investors had even submitted applications for the same location/projects.
“We received more than one proposal for many of the assigned locations and projects. For example, we received 38 proposals for the Siyambalanduwa Solar Project, over 20 for the Mannar Wind Project, and over 20 for the Pooneryn Wind and Solar Project.”
Dr. Jayawardena stated that according to SEA estimates, the collective power generation from the 100 plus proposals could have amounted to 40,000 MW – well beyond the requirement.
He explained that the next step for the SEA was to invite these applicants to submit their respective RFPs, which would comprise comprehensive proposals of what they had planned. Following this the Ministry and the SEA will evaluate them and pick the most compatible projects for development.
“We have completed the screening process, so we are going to invite the selected investors to submit comprehensive proposals, which we will evaluate and then select those that we think can help us meet the policy target of 70% renewable energy by 2030.”
The primary initiative requested proposals that would develop large-scale solar, wind, and floating solar power plants to be built on reservoirs and shallow coastal wind farms. Following this, the Government plans to add a capacity of 4,800 MW from solar and 3,500 MW from wind to the national grid by 2022-2030.
State Minister for Solar, Wind, and Hydro Power Generation Development Projects Duminda Dissanayake told The Sunday Morning that the Government was working towards commencing renewable energy generation projects this year with the aim of commissioning several power projects by next year (2023).
He said that while the RFPs received had been shortlisted for the 50 MW projects that were called, the Government had also received Expressions of Interest from investors for solar parks, floating solar plants, and offshore renewable energy plants. “RFPs will be called for these projects as well,” the State Minister noted.
According to Dissanayake, RFPs received so far with land allocations (private lands or State lands allocated for private projects) would be identified to expedite the projects.
Promoting renewable energy generation: Government gets closer to solar energy goal
29 Jan 2022
Promoting renewable energy generation: Government gets closer to solar energy goal
29 Jan 2022
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