British High Commissioner’s residence to be solar-powered

The British High Commissioner’s residence in Colombo, Westminster House is now powered through solar energy. They are proud champions of renewable energy in Sri Lanka. The installation will provide solar energy of almost 300 KWH each day. 

The project was declared open by visiting Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field MP on 5 October. British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris said: “We are delighted to be able to combine the latest in green technologies with the power of the Sri Lankan sunshine to generate our electricity needs here at Westminster House.  “We have also been cutting right down on our use of single-use plastics within the High Commission. We believe that every organisation can help reduce waste and ocean pollution in this way. Around the world the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is taking similar steps to reduce the environmental impact of our embassies and high commissions.”

Launching the new power system, British Minister Mark Field MP noted that solar power would significantly reduce the High Commission’s carbon footprint. The High Commission estimates that the project will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 77 metric tonnes every year, that’s to say by as much as an average passenger vehicle driving around the Earth more than seven times!