Renewable Energy Development in Sri Lanka:

Policies, Status and Challenges

Dr Thusitha Sugathapala

Renewable Energy:
New Directions Worldwide and German Experience
11, 12 September, 2014
Waters Edge, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

OVERVIEW

Introduction

Role of RE

Renewable Energy Resources, Technologies &

Applications
RE Sector Policies

Policies
Stakeholders

RE Development Plans

Strategic Approach

Challenges in the RE Sector

Recent Developments
Conclusions
2

INTRODUCTION
Categorization of Renewable Energy (RE)

Conventional RE Resources
New Renewable Energy (NRE) Resources

Conventional RE Resources

Conventional Biomass / Solar (thermal)

Large Hydro (electricity)

NRE Resources

Small Hydro
Wind
Solar
Modern Biomass / Biofuels
Geothermal
Ocean Thermal/ Wave/ Tidal

Already being harnessed

Yet to be harnessed
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INTRODUCTION
Role of RE in Energy Sector of Sri Lanka
New RE

Coal

Major Hydro

Primary Energy
Supply by Source

Oil

Biomass

New RE

Gross Electricity
Generation of
Grid Connected
Power Plants

Thermal
(Coal)

Thermal (Oil)

Major Hydro

Source: SLEB-2012, SLSEA

INTRODUCTION
Role of RE in Energy Sector of Sri Lanka
Industrial Sector
Coal
2.3%

Household, Commercial & others Sector

Electricity
13.4%

Electricity
13.3%
Petroleum
8.8%

Biomass
72.8%

Petroleum
11.6%

Biomass
78.0%

Transport Sector

Electricity Sector

Av. Fuel
12.1%

Coal
11.9%

Gasoline
27.3%

NRE
6.2%
Oil
58.8%

Diesel
60.5%

Source: SLEB, SLSEA

Large Hydro
23.1%

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES,

TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS
Typical User
Group / Sector
Household
Commercial

Typical Applications
RE Source
/ Technology
Cooking
Conventional
Hotels, bakeries
Biomass
Furnaces, kilns,
Industry
boilers
Household/Farms Cooking, Lighting
Biogas
Commercial
Institutional cooking
Transport
IC Engine
Household
Improved Cookstove
Commercial
Thermal gasifiers
Modern
Industry
Thermal gasifiers
Biomass /
Electricity for sale
Biofuels
Boiler / Gasifier
to utility
Transport
IC Engine

Scale of use at
Present
Widespread
Widespread
Widespread
> Six thousand
Limited usage
Research Level
~ 15%
Limited usage
Limited usage
Three plants
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Research Level

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES,

TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS
Typical User
Typical Applications
RE Source
Group / Sector
/ Technology
Electricity utility
For retail to
Large Hydro
owned
customers
Mini Hydro
(Commercial grid- For sale to utility
connected)
Village-level off-grid
Micro Hydro
electricity for
household use
Small Hydro
Tea industry off-grid
Micro Hydro
electricity
Micro Hydro
For sale to utility
Off-grid household
Pico Hydro
use

Scale of use at
Present
Major power
plants
~ 125 power
plants

Over 250
power plants
Over 30 power
plants
3 pilot plants
~ 2000 plants
7

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES,

TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS
RE
Source

Solar

Wind

Typical User Group / Typical Applications / Scale of use at

Sector
Technology
Present
Solar PV home systems Off-grid household use >100,000 units
Solar PV rooftop
Net-metering
Few hundreds
Grid connected PV
For sale to utility 4 power plants
Hot water systems in
Significant
Solar water heaters
commercial and
usage
domestic sectors
Solar dryers,
Household and
Widespread
Open sun drying
agricultural use
thousands
Water pumping
Drinking / Agriculture Few
A few
dozens
12 Plants
Grid Connected Wind
For sale to utility 9 power
plants
Off-grid power plants Off-grid household use A few dozens
8
Water pumping
Agriculture
A few dozens

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES,

TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS

Grid Connected Power Plants The Progress

Approval Stage

Small Hydro
No.

Wind

Biomass

Solar

Total

MW

No.

MW

No.

MW

No.

MW

No.

MW

Commissioned

125 264.3

12

98.45

20

1.36

146 384.2

Energy Permit
Provisional
Approval

90

181.4

11.3

16

92.8

40.0

112 325.4

88

100.7

20.0

12

55.2

10.0

103 185.8

9
Source: SLSEA

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES,

TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS

Grid Connected Power Plants The Progress

Cumulative Capacity
Additions and Number
of SPPs

Gross Electricity
Generation

Source: SLEB-2012, SLSEA

10

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

RE Policy

No specific policy on RE in Sri Lanka

Covered primarily by National Energy Policy and
Strategies of Sri Lanka
Published in 2008
Revision is now long-overdue Final stage of completion

Presently, a specific policy on Sustainable Energy is in

preparation
Will cover both RE and energy efficiency (EE)

Other National Policies

RE sector has many aspects cutting across other sectors

Thus there are other policies of importance to RE sector:
- National development policies
- Policies on environment, waste, transport, science & technology,
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industry, etc.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

Stakeholder Institutions: Government

Ministry of Finance & Planning Development / Fiscal

policies
Ministry of Environment & RE SE policy, Environment /
waste policies
Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA)
Central Environment Authority (CEA)

Ministry of Power & Energy Energy policy

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB)

Ministry of Technology & Research Science &

Technology policy
Ministry of Transport Transport policy (draft)
Ministry of Petroleum Industries
Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL)
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Regulatory

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

Other Stakeholders

Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited (LECO)

Local governments
R&D Institutions
Independent private power producers
Technology suppliers
Energy service companies (ESCOs)
Electricity consumers
Off-grid electricity power producers / households
Community based organizations (CBOs)
Non-government organizations (NGOs)
International organizations (UNFCCC, IPCC, )
Donors (ADB, WB, GIZ, JICA, KOICA, UN agencies, .)
13
...

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

National Energy Policy & Strategies: The Content

Policy elements
Implementing strategies
Specific targets, milestones & institutional responsibilities.

Policy Elements

Providing basic energy needs

Ensuring energy security
Promoting energy efficiency and conservation
Renewable
Promoting indigenous resources
Energy
Protection from adverse environmental impacts Resources
Adopting an appropriate pricing policy
Enhancing energy sector management capacity
Consumer protection and ensuring a level playing field
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Enhancing the quality of supply.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

National Development Policies

Mahinda Chinthana - Vision for a New Sri Lanka:

Development Framework 2006 2016 (2005)
Mahinda Chinthana Vision for the Future: Development
Policy Framework (2010)
Unstoppable Sri Lanka 2020 Public Investment Strategy
(2014).

Government Vision

Achieve economic development of the country while

addressing social and environmental aspects
Transform into a strategically important economic centre
by developing Sri Lanka as a Naval, Aviation, Commercial,
Energy and Knowledge Hub
Energy Security.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

Energy Sector Development Goals

Sustainable development of energy resources, conversion

facilities and delivery systems to enable access to and
use of energy services by the entire population and safe
reliable delivery of such energy services at a regionally
competitive price through commercially viable institutions
subjected to independent regulation
Electricity for Everybody, Everyday.

National Energy Sector Targets

100% Household electrification by 2016

97% by national grid; 3% by off-grid REs

20% grid-electricity from NRE resources by 2020

8.7% electricity consumption reduction by 2020.
16

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

SLSEA

Established by Act 35 of 2007 on 01st October 2007

Ownership of RE sources vested in the republic
All forms of RE resources came into SLSEA custody
A well laid out scheme to grant stewardship of resources to
private developers
Duel role of regulator and facilitator.

Salient Features

The Act provides many provisions for the RE development

Identify, assess and develop optimally RE resources;
Development, analysis and recommendation of policies and
integration of sub sector energy information, plans and
programmes;
Ensure availability of adequate funds for the implementation.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

SLSEA: Main Programmes & Activities

Development of Renewable Energy Resource Maps,

Inventories and Roadmaps (REACT)
National Energy Management Plan (EnMAP)
Off-grid Electrification Programme (Sunithyaloka)
National Biogas Programme
National Programme on Energy for Agriculture
National Programme on Energy Efficient &
Environmentally Sustainable Transport (E3ST) System
Sustainable Energy Zones (SEZs)
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) Plan

18

RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The Strategic Approach
RESOURCE MAPS

RESOURCE INVENTORY

TECHNOLOGY ROAD MAP

19

RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

RE Resource Maps
Solar

Wind

Hydro

Biomass
Scrub Land

(kWh/m2/yr)
Low
Medium
High

Source: SLSEA

20

RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Resource Inventory

No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Source: SLSEA

District
Biomass Solar
Ampara
30
0
Anuradhapura
15
30
Badulla
15
0
Batticaloa
15
0
Colombo
40
0
Galle
15
0
Gampha
5
0
Hambantota
15
100
Jaffna
0
0
Kalutara
30
0
Kandy
15
0
Kegalle
0
0
Kilinochchi
15
30
Kurunegala
30
30
Mannar
0
0
Matale
0
0
Matara
15
0
Monaragala
30
15
Mullaittivu
15
0
Nuwara Eliya
0
0
Polonnaruwa
15
30
Puttalam
15
0
Ratnapura
0
0
Trincomalee
15
0
Vavuniya
15
15
Total
360
250

Wind
0
0
60
0
0
0
0
60
100
0
30
0
60
0
260
30
0
0
30
60
0
260
30
30
0
1010

Hydro
0
2
61
0
0
12
0
1
0
3
80
94
0
0
0
38
13
6
0
133
8
0
151
0
0
602

Total
30
47
136
15
40
27
5
176
100
33
125
94
105
60
260
68
28
51
45
193
53
275
181
45
30
2222

21

RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Technology Road Map

Challenges for Implementation

Wind:
Hill-country
Waste /
Agro-residues

Pump
Storage:
Biomass: Large-hydro
MSW

CSP

1st Phase

Small Hydro

Biomass

Mini Hydro:
Irrigation
Channels
Biomass:
Cogeneration
Mini Hydro:
Low head

Geothermal
Wind

Wind:
Onshore

Pico-hydro

Today

Hydrogen
Storage

OTEC

Micro-hydro

Mini Hydro

Ocean
Wave

Wind:
Offshore

Solar PV

Solar Home
Solar PV
Net metering

2050+

Biomass:
Dendro power
Biomass:
Co-firing

Solar
Geothermal
Ocean
Storage

Transport
Transport
Ice
Electrification 3rd Phase
Storage Pump Storage:
Lift irrigation
BAU (lighter pie) vs
2nd Phase
additional energy
potential (darker pie)
Towards Sustainable Energy Systems

Time Horizon

22

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR POLICIES

System Approach for Prioritization of Options

Sustainable Assessment of Technology (SAT)

Methodology
Integrate sustainability criteria (Financial, Social and
Environmental) in technology selection.
RESOURCE

TECHNOLOGY

APPLICATION

THE ENERGY
SERVICES
23

CHALLENGES IN THE RE SECTOR

General Challenges

RE resources are mostly dispersed in nature and

characterized by lower energy densities
Thus demanding efficient conversion technologies to be
utilized for the competitiveness in the energy market.
Basically, environmental and social benefits along are not
adequate to promote and commercialize RE technologies.

Lack of capacity and knowhow in using sound

methodology in project formulation and implementation
Failure to performance characterization of technologies
against the on-site attributes of the RE resource, the
intended end-use application/s & other local circumstances
Inadequate R&D efforts
Failure to capture immerging technologies (e.g. smart grid)
Lack of capacity for local value addition / manufacture,
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Very limited inventions & innovations efforts.

CHALLENGES IN THE RE SECTOR

Challenges for RE Electricity Generation

Constraints in national grid in absorbing RE based

electricity

Exceeding substation / transmission capacities

Time / seasonal variability + Lack of storage options
Non-dispatchable generation
Limitations in Peak-matching
Geographical mismatch of resource and demand

Lack of dynamic modelling / advanced forecasting tools

and technical knowhow
Limited of long-term resource data
Higher initial costs of new REs / Subsidies for fossil fuels
Issues of prevailing Feed-in-Tariff methodology
Limited access to green-funding.
25

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Some National Level Interventions in the RE sector

Establishment of the Ministry of Environment and

Renewable Energy and re-positioning of SLSEA .
Initiatives for the revision of SLSEA Act and formulation of
SE Policy
Appointment of Officials Committee on Tariff Payable to
NCRE developers by the Cabinet of Ministers
Appointment of Ministers Committee on Enhancing the
Quality of Fossil Fuels for Managing Air Quality in Sri
Lanka by the Cabinet of Ministers
National R&D Investment Plan 2015 2020 by the
Ministry of Technology & Research
Revamping of the National Action Plan for the Haritha
Lanka Programme by the National Council for SD
Appointment of Officers Committee to develop road map
for optimum utilization of NCRE resources for grid26

CONCLUSIONS
Sri Lanka has a high potential of number of RE
resource, but harnessing of these resources for
providing high quality energy services at competitive
prices is still a challenge in all end-use sectors.
The optimum utilization of RE resources for socioeconomic development is still possible, but requires
methodological approach for formulation and
implementation of RE development programmes.
For the RE sector to develop, it is essential that the
ESTs are adopted, while establishing conducive
environment for programme development.
Such efforts could be well supported by introducing
innovative financial mechanisms, for which green
27
funds could be used.

Thank You

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