Tender for megawatt scale solar-plus-storage launched in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, a division of the Ministry of Power, Energy & Business Development, has issued an expression of interest for the construction of a 10 MW solar plant with 20% storage capacity.

The solar park will have to be linked to a storage system with a minimum capacity of 8 MWh and will be connected to the country’s grid near Hambantota.

The chosen developers will be awarded a 20-year power supply deal with state-run power company the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). The deadline to submit bids is October 20.

Sri Lanka reached 158 MW of installed solar power generation capacity at the end of last year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Most of that figure comes from numerous 1 MW projects the government tendered. All the government projects were developed under phase II of the Soorya Bala Sangramaya solar program and are selling power to the CEB under 20-year deals. The CEB also launched a tender for a 10 MW facility in the summer of 2017.

The Sri Lankan government expects to connect 200 MW of solar generation capacity to the grid by next year and 1 GW by 2025 through the Soorya Bala Sangramaya.

A joint study by the UN Development Program and the Asian Development Bank stated Sri Lanka has the potential to deploy 16 GW of solar capacity and meet its entire power demand from renewables by 2050.