Sri Lanka President orders 70-pct renewable electricity by 2030

ECONOMYNEXT :  Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed that plans be made to produce 70 percent of the electricity in country from renewable sources by 2030, following a meeting with the solar and wind energy ministers, his office said.

“We should harness renewable energy sources as much as possible for our future generations to experience a sustainable development,” President Rajapaksa was quoted as saying in a statement.

Sri Lanka has long term generation plan developed by the state run Ceylon Electricity Board where cheaper thermal plants have been delayed and expensive stop gap plants are usually installed after each crisis.

Fears have been expressed that the connection of small renewable plants should be phased so that system stability is not undermined until investments are made to keep system stability.

President Rajapaksa had said projects should approved within 14 days, and if it takes more time it should be considered as having been approved.

If projects selected through tenders do not start within three months, their licenses should be revoked, he had said.

Sri Lanka is also wants to promote floating solar panels in rural areas, the statement said. (Colombo/Sept15/2020)

Source : economynext