‘Battle for Solar Energy’ begins from President’s house

The  Government's  new  community  based  power  generation  project  'Soorya  Bala  Sangramaya'  or  'Battle  for  Solar  Energy'  commenced  Tuesday  from    President  Maithripala  Sirisena's  official  residence.

In  a  move  to  boost  the  sustainable  power  generation  in  the  country,  the  Ministry  of  Power  and  Renewable  Energy  has  planned  to  transform  every  house  to  a  micro  power  plant.

The  'Battle  for  Solar  Energy'  program  will  encourage  the  consumers  to  join  in  power  generation  by  installing  small  solar  power  plants  established  on  the  roofs  of  their  houses  to  meet  their  energy  requirements.

The  programs will  establish  micro  solar  power  units  in  one  million  houses  throughout  the  country.  The  one  million  houses  will  be  connected  to  a  net  metering  system  and  solar  panels  will  be  provided  to  the  households  at  a  concessionary  rate.  The  power  supplier  Ceylon  Electricity  Board  will  purchase  excess  power  generated  from  them.

The  project  commenced  on  6 September  from  the  President's  official  residence  with  the  signing  of  the  agreement  by  the  Secretary  to  the  President  P.B.  Abeykoon  and  General  Manager  of  the  Ceylon  Electricity  Board  N.C.  Wickramasekara.  President  Sirisena's  official  residence  will  be  transformed  into  a  small  power  plant  as  the  first  measure  of  the  project.

The  inauguration  ceremony  of  the  Battle  for  Solar  Energy  program  took  place  at  the  BMICH  after  the  signing  ceremony. The  pilot  project  of  the  Soorya  Bala  Sangramaya  program,  which  aims  to  reduce  Carbon  Dioxide  emissions  from  thermal  power  plants  to  150,000  metric  tons  per  year,  will  be  implemented  in  Negombo  and  Kotte  areas.  The  Ministry  expects  the  program  to  add  another  1000  megawatts  to  the  national  grid  by  the  year  2025.

The  program  is  organised  by  the  Ministry  of  Power  and  Renewable  Energy,  the  Ceylon  Electricity  Board,  the  Sri  Lanka  Sustainable  Energy  Authority  and  Lanka  Electricity  Company  Limited.