Lanka electricity: Solar power to the village and LNG power to the city?

Power Minister Dullas Alahapperuma and Solar, Wind and Grid Power Generation Projects Development State Minister Duminda Dissanayake should be aware that solar power suitability goes beyond the rural setting and has a wider role to play in the context of national development and attainment of a renewable energy dominant grid

Power Minister Dullas Alahapperuma recently made an announcement that a program titled ‘Power Plant to the Village’ would feature a plan to install 7,000 solar power plants within three years and contribute 700 MW to the national grid. 

Solar, Wind and Grid Power Generation Projects Development State Minister Duminda Dissanayake referred to this initiative as the ‘Power Station for Village’ program.

While this is a significant step, the Ministers should be aware that solar power suitability goes beyond the rural setting and has a wider role to play in the context of national development and attainment of a renewable energy (RE) dominant grid. Relevant applications are; utility scale solar, residential/commercial/factory rooftop solar and solar in hybrid plants that feature wind and battery storage.

If the President’s 2030 vision of meeting 80% of the electricity generation via RE is to be met, harnessing solar and wind resources on a large scale will be the key to attaining this objective. 

Many nations have embarked on ambitious RE development programs. Gaining knowledge from practices adopted and challenges faced by these nations will aid Sri Lanka’s effort significantly. 

The following examples (random selection) gathered from the internet are presented to drive the argument:



India: Ambitious target of producing about 450 gigawatts of renewable power by 2030. As of November 2020, 38% of India’s installed electricity generation capacity was from renewable sources (136 GW out of 373 GW). India is planning to develop 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022 with 40 GW based on rooftop solar systems. State Bank of India is providing loans to support the roof top solar program.

Los Angeles, California: A landmark study says that Los Angeles’ goal of reaching a 100% renewable, reliable, and resilient grid can be met as early as 2035. This will require adding new solar, batteries, wind, and transmission, along with operational practices that make more efficient use of these assets (NREL). 

Australia: “The poles and wires businesses were set up to get electricity from a big generator, like a coal plant or a gas plant, down those wires and into your house. The change we’ve seen over the last 10, 15 years is a two-way flow. Now power is not just going to your house, but power is coming from your house. The system hasn’t been set up to deal with that” (Australian Regulator AEMC). Despite the challenges, the solar market has continued to grow and has posted record high installation figures for year 2020 with 3 GW of solar capacity added from homeowners and small businesses.

Hawaii, USA: Rooftop solar is booming and Hawaii leads the nation in per capita use of rooftop solar, with over 20% of customers, including 36% of single-family homes on Oahu with solar systems connected to island grids. Of the newer systems installed, over 70% included battery storage.



IRENA: Annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021 shows that renewable energy’s share of all new generating capacity rose considerably for the second year in a row. More than 80% of all new electricity capacity added last year was renewable, with solar and wind accounting for 91% of new renewables.

The internet is an excellent source for gaining knowledge about RE development in the era of disruptive technology, distributed generation and the evolution of micro grids and prosumers. Distributed energy businesses will grow with micro utilities using hardware and software to harness, store, sell and consume electricity efficiently and productively.

The ‘Power Plant to the Village’ program represents distributed generation where electricity is produced close to where it is consumed rather than from remote power plants that result in transmission and distribution losses. This benefit is enjoyed when RE is harnessed for production of electricity from small, medium and large scale capacity plants. Private sector investors can play a significant role in speeding up the development process. This activity brings skilled jobs and economic benefits island wide. 

While existing power infrastructure in Sri Lanka composed of hydro and fossil fuelled power plants provide an accommodating flexible base, increased demand for electricity can be met by harnessing RE resources. The full RE potential in SL can be estimated through assessments on resource rich regions. Once regulations and incentives for investment are in place and land zoned for development, RE plants of varying capacities can be developed at a faster rate than fossil fuelled alternatives. 

With technology evolving rapidly, costs on a downward trend and strong global sentiments expressed for green energy, grid integration of RE presents a highly favourable option to be pursued. Thus, the power sector should be taken forward by harnessing RE rather than developing LNG power plants on a fast track basis (“as soon as possible” – Minister Alahapperuma).

The Minister’s worry about facing a crisis due to non-integration of major power plants into the national grid may have arisen due to concerns about meeting the growing electricity demand driven by Port City development, rapid urbanisation and manufacturing industries. 

Even though the high-end urban development scenario (Port City and other) is speculative, the existing power plant infrastructure combined with increasing RE based electricity supply should be able to meet the rising demand. 

Any likely electricity shortfall can be foreseen years ahead and timely measures adopted to address a possible demand supply gap. Power sector planners should note that products manufactured for export and services provided ‘in country’ (commercial and hospitality) will have a strong preference to show green credentials.

When one considers the abundant RE resources available in SL with the unique combination of hydro, wind and solar, and the highly probable scenario a decade ahead with offshore wind power coming on stream and the SL grid interconnected with India to facilitate large-scale offshore wind integration, does it make sense to expose the nation to risks associated with the rushed development of LNG infrastructure to fuel power generation plants?

Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU)