CEB to float tenders for solar power generation under free market demand-supply dynamics

By Ifham Nizam

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) will float tenders to attract more investors willing to undertake solar power generation under free market demand-supply dynamics, officials said.

While promoting solar energy from its inception, a gradual transformation from the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme to a competitive bidding process has been introduced by the CEB in keeping with the tariff reduction trend in the global market.

“Prospective solar power developers can now bid for very competitive rates”, they assured.

Initially, the CEB introduced the cost reflective feed-in tariff scheme to attract investments for the new technology. After the solar power industry grew, the CEB gradually introduced the competitive bidding process in line with the Sri Lanka Electricity Act.

As at December 2020, 414 MW of Solar power capacity has been grid connected. Interestingly, solar power generation has become an open market for many the world over, who exploit the freely available and almost non-exhaustible energy.

The CEB has already initiated the first phase of the planned 7,000 ground mounted solar power projects with installed capacity of 75 kW (AC) each (total project target 525 MW) to be positioned in rural and semi urban areas. The project, promoted under the theme ‘Gamata Balagarayak’ pioneers the engagement of local entrepreneurs for national energy generation.

The CEB has pledged its commitment to renewable, clean and green energy, with solar power taking the lead as a key energy source.

Under the declared policy of the government, it is envisaged to generate 70 per cent of the overall power demand from clean and renewable power sources. In this order, the CEB places top priority to finance solar power projects across the country through private sector participation, they said.

Around Rs. 7.2 billion has been allocated for future capacity enhancement of transmission networks and augmentation of grid substations to develop renewable energy, the officials said.

The Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP) draft 2020-2039 proposed an increased renewable energy addition target (including solar PV) compared to the approved previous 2018-2037 plan.

As the 2020-2039 draft has not been approved yet despite its submission many months ago, the CEB is now preparing the draft LTGEP 2022-2041 with enhanced renewable energy addition targets to boost the renewable energy share by 2030 as stipulated by the prevailing policy guidelines.

As a developing country, Sri Lanka has been reaping the benefits of these indigenous renewable energy sources for decades with sustainable economic growth, they pointed out.

With almost all major hydro-power resources tapped, it is expected to gradually phase out the use of fossil fuel based thermal power. Energy experts are of the view that the world will experience a gradual reduction of fossil fuel by the middle of this century.

The country’s electricity energy needs were predominantly met by renewable energy sources over decades, with the prime contribution from major hydro power resources enabling the country to maintain green credential with low carbon emissions per capita level in power generation throughout the past years.

However, the growing energy demand necessitated the development of different power generation sources. When global consensus was in place to combat climate change, Sri Lanka progressed towards low carbon pathways through renewable energy.

A substantial increase of renewable energy sources is envisaged in the electricity sector thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing energy security aspects, the officials said.

Situated within the equatorial belt, Sri Lanka’s solar resource maps indicate higher potentials in the northern half, eastern and southern parts of the country. The potential in other areas including mountainous regions is mainly characterized by climatic and geographical features and the use of available resources require the consideration of competing land values for the proposed projects and availability of transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Solar Photovoltaic development in Sri Lanka has been gathering momentum due to rapidly falling costs of technology and global trends in the improvement in solar PV technology as a clean energy. At present, with the facilitation of the Ministry of Power, the CEB and Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), development of grid scale solar PV power projects, small scale distributed solar PV projects and rooftop solar PV installations are in progress on a commercial scale.

Distributed solar PV resource development has its own advantages and challenges that require careful consideration. Similar to the wind resource, the technical potential of integrating solar PV resources into the power system is assessed by the renewable energy grid integration study conducted by the CEB.