Ravi K backs renewables but worried over cost

Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake and German Ambassador Jorn Rohde at the launch of 'The Green Energy Champion Sri Lanka 2019' yesterday at the Embassy. Power and Energy Secretary Dr. B. M. S. Batagoda, GIZ Country Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives Randa Korieh-Ranarivelo and GIZ Head of Project Daniel Schreiber are also present - Pic by Sameera Wijesinghe

• Power Minister says study has shown SL can meet energy demand with renewables by 2050 

By Divya Thotawatte

Power Minister Ravi Karunanayake yesterday backed increasing renewable energy for Sri Lanka but said cost remains a prohibitive factor and said losses of the State-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) needs to be reduced.  

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the Green Energy Champion 2019 competition organised by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Sri Lanka Sustainable Authority, the Minister stated that since hydropower has been largely tapped out by the country, it is opportune to move onto renewable energy sources. 

“Our endeavours in the development of hydropower has been phenomenal and it is time that we renew development of solar and wind relatedrenewable energies as well. There is a severe transformation taking place in Sri Lanka. We want to maximise on wind, solar, biogas, sea waves and hydro. We have been relying on hydro up to now and we seem to be at saturation point but we still have opportunities,” he noted.

The Minister said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) through a joint study have predicted that Sri Lanka could meet future electricity demand with renewable energy by 2050.Karunanayake said it was important to focus on ways to improve energy efficiency while encouraging the use of renewable energy in the country. 

Karunanayake added that even though the country should transition towards renewables, it remains expensive. “The general generating cost, in marginal terms, is roughly Rs.22 per unit while the selling rate is Rs.16.Therefore,you can seethe enormous gap. You could see it is very encouraging for us to go towards renewable, but that’s not cheap,” he elaborated. 

The Minister also requested assistance and support forthe implementation of renewable energy initiativesfrom German AmbassadorJörn Rohde who was also present at the event. 

Implemented by Deutsche GIZ GmbH and the Sri Lanka Sustainable Authority, Green Energy Champion 2019 is an initiative to help Sri Lanka move away from fossil fuels and accelerate the adoption of clean, renewable energy alternatives. The initiative invites proposals from schools, public sector entities, private sector companies, non-governmental organisations(NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs).