Gaia Greenenergy signs up with BOI for $ 122 m 200 MW solar rooftop ventures

Gaia Greenenergy Group has entered into two agreements with the Board of Investment (BOI) to install rooftop solar systems for 100 MW with an investment of $ 61 million in the Central Province and the North Central Province. 

In phase 2 of these projects, the capacity and investment would double to 200MW and $ 122 million respectively to be completed within 18 months. 

The signing of agreements took place recently at the Investor Facilitation Centre (IFC) of the BOI headquarters in the presence of State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama, BOI Chairman Raja Edirisuriya, and Directors of Gaia Greenenergy Group.

The two agreements were signed to set up and operate rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to generate electricity to the National Grid under the Net Plus Plus Scheme of Ceylon Electricity Board using rooftops of schools, hospitals, and other government buildings belonging to the Central Provincial Council and North Central Provincial Council. 

The group has already secured concessions in the Uva, Southern, Western, and Sabaragamuwa provinces for a total capacity of over 500MWp and foreign direct investment of $ 300 million. They have already started the development of 20MWp in the Uva Province and completed most of it. They work in a revenue share model where they share 15-16% of the top-line revenue with the provinces giving the provinces its highest revenue source once the project is completed. 

Once the national program is operational it’s expected to generate 750GWh of energy annually and save $ 400 million of diesel imports for power generation per annum. 

A study done by the University of Moratuwa proved that 65MWp of rooftop solar in the Uva Province can eliminate daytime power cuts without a disturbance to the national grid. These power cuts have seriously impacted small to medium enterprises and industries and medical clinics.  

Given the distributed nature of rooftop solar projects, they contribute greatly to stabilising the grid and significantly reducing transmission and distribution losses. 

Additionally, these projects can be developed and scaled much faster than the large ground-mounted projects given that ground-mounted projects require complex multi-institutional approvals and usually compete with valuable agricultural lands.