Jaffna lights up solar entrepreneurship ‘Ecosteem’

The below discussion with solar energy industrialist Balachandran Ramesh BEng.(Hons) from Jaffna is featured as part of our drive to promote renewable energy innovation, entrepreneurship and public awareness in Sri Lanka. This is an integral component of a sustainable energy awareness media initiative linked to a renewable energy conference series that will commence end of August. This first segment of the conference will continue for six months as an integrated campaign to promote a total shift in the national economy through viable and diverse action towards economically sustainable and planet friendly energy alternatives. 

In the research carried out so far by the Daily FT Harmony page team there is much work being done throughout Sri Lanka by diverse persons across different age groups and geographical reach, towards initiating, using and promoting the different categories of renewable energy in multifarious ways. 

This week we feature Balachandran Ramesh, a young engineer and innovator from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka who started the solar company – Ecosteem in 2011 as a family based renewable energy endeavour. 

Ramesh states that Ecosteem is today a pioneer in the country in manufacturing solar roof tiles. These roof tiles are branded as Roofsteem. Ecosteem has successfully carried out business in Northern, Eastern and Western Province of Sri Lanka and has been selected as one of the Green Energy Champions of 2021 for Roofsteem solar tile product by the joint competition carried out in partnership with Sri Lanka and Germany implemented by GIZ, GLX, and Hatch.

Solar rooftop systems (both on grid and off grid), solar streetlights and solar water pumps mostly used in irrigation are some of the solar solutions provided by Ecosteem. Although at the initial stages the company used to import some of the above products, after 2017 it has begun manufacturing its own panels, especially for solar street lights. By 2021 the solar roof tile product was introduced. Manufacturing is done at present using imported material but there is a clear vision ahead to explore the use of local products. Solar energy promoters and specialists in Sri Lanka state that research is needed to find out the effectiveness of the silica found in Sri Lanka for crystalline solar cell production needed for panel production.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

By Surya Vishwa

Q: Could you speak of your journey as a solar engineer-entrepreneur and how you and your family came to form such a company?

 Our childhood experience in the north living with electricity power cuts and as parents who don’t want their children to live in darkness made us to go for renewable energy alternatives. We wanted the north of the country and the whole of Sri Lanka to be empowered by being energy-independent by one of the key resources of nature – the sun and hence we started our company with the mission to promote energy freedom. We are planning to invest more in researching the wider scope of potential of initiating easy to use and even portable solar products.

Q: What is the basic skill for an engineer to become a solar entrepreneur? 

 I am an electrical engineer. An engineer specialising in any sphere if he acquires the necessary knowledge could successfully work in the solar energy field. However, to be a solar entrepreneur, it is necessary to have passion in renewable energy and have the utmost of perseverance. It was not easy for us at the outset after we started this journey. My wife and I began this solar based business in a very small way with the determination to grow to a global level. We exhibited several times at the Jaffna International Trade Fair. There is much potential for solar energy innovators in Sri Lanka as we have our highly untapped resource of sunlight, especially a region such as the North where the consistent brightness of the sun is at a very high level.

Tapping this energy on a very large scale can take us permanently out of fossil energy dependency. If Sri Lanka develops a renewable energy policy at central and regional level this would be even easier for more entrepreneurs connected to the solar industry to emerge. 

Q: Are you the only business in Jaffna that does solar roofing tile manufacturing and do you import raw materials for solar roof tiles at present?

 Yes, as far as I know we are the only company manufacturing solar roof tiles in the North and the rest of Sri Lanka. However, it is possible there could be others that I do not know of. My company also has a range of other solar based solutions that include solar rooftop systems (both on grid and off grid), solar streetlights and solar water pumps mostly used in irrigation. In the current energy crisis there is much enthusiasm for such products by the public. We currently rely on importing materials for our manufacturing

Q: How is the dollar issue affecting the imports of the solar panel manufacturing material?

 It is affecting our ability to import raw materials and increases our cost of production as the materials needed have shot up in price. This is one reason that we solar energy entrepreneurs feel that there should be more national focus directed at supporting research on resources found in Sri Lanka that could be used for renewable energy.

Q: Sri Lanka has silica as a natural resource which is needed for the making of the solar tiles. Have you thought of starting even in a small way to manufacture solar tiles and panels with local silica? 

We need more Lankan research on these matters. Our company has just succeeded in making solar PV modules (panels) in a small way with our research and development effort within our capacity. I hope it is possible with the necessary investment and technology support to make local productions entirely with the natural resources available in Sri Lanka.

Q: What kind of support do you need to start a local silica based solar panel manufacturing plant?

 Mainly we need the financial support for research and development and some technology assistance to enable us to get into this systematically.

Q: What is the biggest challenge that you have for the expansion of the solar industry that you have started?

 There are many different challenges solar industries face from time to time. But I think these challenges make us stronger and give opportunities to learn. The recent challenges are in obtaining materials for solar systems due to the dollar crises. Grid capability is another big challenge to implement the solar system with the grid connection.

I think the existing grid was built to manage conventional electricity demand and added generators according to the demand. But in solar and wind energy era, it is a different paradigm, and the national grid has to be made to support to manage the demand and supply in these renewable categories. It is difficult to expect the present grid to work within the solar and wind energy paradigm. There is a need for transformational change of grid to adopt solar and wind energy if we want to be energy independent. We don’t have fossil fuel resources. Despite this fact are we going to still rely on fossil fuel or are we going to put serious effort to grid transformation to use available energy sources such as solar and wind as well as hydro which we possess as alternative energy resources in this country.

Q: How long have you started the solar business to date and what is the progress so far in the expansion of the client base beyond Jaffna?

 We started in 2011, with the mission to empower energy freedom. While functioning as a solar service provider, we started our research for diverse related energy products. In this effort we were able to product solar PV modules for solar street lights and solar roof tiles. We strongly believe that we could be energy independent in the long run, with expanded awareness, with the vastly available solar energy in Sri Lanka.

Q: What kind of support could you provide for a project that looks at setting up a solar base in rural schools?

 We are always ready to support with our skills and experience in renewable energy area to promote the sustainability of renewable energy. This focus is needed right now at a time when we are facing serious issues pertaining to energy costs. We feel that there should be a short and long term plan for renewable energy production and proliferation as part of a systematic energy policy. Thereafter there should be widespread effort to look at investment and funding opportunity in this regard for both private and State projects.