Stakeholders seek urgent policy reforms :
Encourage investors :
Focus on grid modernisation:
The survival of the renewable energy sector, a pivotal cog in the country’s energy industry is uncertain today due to policy bungling, inefficient grid management and bureaucratic roadblocks.
Industry stakeholders dismayed by the treatment meted out to them voiced their frustration more than their concerns at a media briefing in Colombo last week due to the drastic reduction in tariffs offered to developers.
“The jobs of over 40,000 workers in the solar power industry are at stake if there is no rectification in the tariff reduction,” National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) Vice Chairman, Dr. Lakmal Fernando said.
The main grouse of renewable energy developers is that the sector being a 100 percent local industry which is doing its best to reduce the reliance on fossils fuels and save the much-needed foreign exchange leaving the shores being extended a step-motherly treatment by policymakers.
Solar power stakeholders said rooftop solar has been a cornerstone of the country’s renewable transition, particularly through progressive schemes such as Net Plus Plus (Net++), which permitted commercial and industrial customers to install systems beyond their own consumption and export all generated electricity to the grid.
“The solar power sector has contributed around 14 percent to electricity generation in the country and had saved around USD 680 million last year to the economy”, Renewable Energy Council Member Eng. Prabhath Wickramasinghe said.
Stakeholders said the actions of the CEB does not support the renewable energy sector and the Governments vision to achieve 70 percent energy through renewable by 2030.
“The CEB’s actions are discouraging renewable energy developers. The tariff reduction explains it well,” renewable energy specialist, Dr. Vidura Ralapanawa said.
Developers said that it’s high time the country looks at what is can offer to the energy sector which is yet highly reliant on costly fossil fuel for power generation.
“Depending so much on toxic and costly fossil fuels when the country is blessed with ample natural resources is ridiculous”, Renewable Energy Council Member Eng. Parakrama Jayasinghe said adding that a choice has to be made between a dollar- denominated industry and a rupee- denominated industry.
