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

Published

5 years ago

2021/06/20

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.

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya extended

Published

11 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya by the Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation have been extended till 0600 hrs on 15th February 2026.

Accordingly,
The Level II [AMBER] warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Walapane and Nildandahinna in the Nuwar Eliya district and the
Level I [YELLOW] warning issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara in the Kandy district have been extended.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 11.30 a.m. 14 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 14 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 1.00 p.m. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

22 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.