• Land, grid availability issues slowing down RE projects’ progress: CEB
• Says CEB is incorporating other RE projects where possible

A 50 MW solar power plant proposed for Sampur, following the cancellation of the controversial coal power plant, is yet to commence construction due to the delay in finalising the energy transmission line and Power Purchasing Agreements (PPAs), The Sunday Morning learns.

It is reliably learnt that the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) had already issued the required energy permit for the construction of the power plant and the transmission line and that the power purchasing should be finalised by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

In 2022, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) of India signed an agreement with the CEB to jointly set up a solar power plant in Sampur, Trincomalee.

The new agreement was signed a decade after the joint venture for a coal power plant project was signed and subsequently scrapped. Nevertheless, it has now been nearly a year since the agreements were signed between the NTPC and the CEB, but physical progress on the project is yet to materialise.

However, SLSEA Chairman Eng. Ranjith Sepala told The Sunday Morning said that the authority had already issued the energy permit for a 50 MW solar power plant and that the next steps were to finalise the PPAs and the transmission line, which had to be done by the CEB.

“We have already issued an energy permit for a 50 MW power plant. This should be developed as soon as possible. They should commence construction of the plant and the transmission line and then dispatch the energy,” Sepala said, adding that the transmission line should be updated by the CEB.

Highlighting that there was a delay from the CEB side in the expansion of the transmission line, Sepala said: “We have already issued permits, but there is a delay from the CEB. They should decide on the transmission line after evaluating grid stability.”

He went on to say that several new projects had come to the authority, but issues had arisen in the finalisation of the power line and the manner in which the PPAs were to be signed.

“Several projects have already been lined up. We have already issued permits and decided where the energy should be purchased from. For most of these projects, the transmission line will have to be updated. This was mentioned when we called for new tenders. The investor is aware that either the CEB or the investors will have to upgrade the transmission line. If the upgrade is done by the investor, the CEB will have to pay for it,” Sepala said.  

Addressing the 500 MW wind and solar power projects proposed by Adani, the SLSEA Chairman noted that the authority had already given the targets and that the project had to be completed by December next year.

Responding to the allegations levelled against the CEB, its Chairman Nalinda Illangakoon stressed that the CEB’s main focus was on Renewable Energy (RE) and that it was planning to reach a target of 70% RE by 2030.

“We have recently issued a short-term renewable energy development plan from 2023-2026. We will be absorbing nearly 2,500 MW of renewable energy until 2026 and we plan to do that within the existing grid and transmission lines,” he added.

The Chairman acknowledged that there had been criticism levelled against the CEB over lack of support for renewable energy projects, but pointed out that the CEB had already begun evaluating such projects forwarded to it.