Sri Lanka's first floating solar power station to be built in Maduru Oya

Power and Energy Minister Ravi Karunanayake says that the first floating solar power plant in Sri Lanka will be built with the assistance of Canada. The Minister said that the construction of this power plant is expected to be completed by November this year. Therefore, it is possible to add 100 MW to the national grid from November.

The Minister made this statement after a function held at the Presidential Secretariat Office yesterday morning (09). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Canadian Government and the Government of Sri Lanka on the construction of a 100 MW floating solar power plant project. 

This event was chaired by the president Maithripala Sirisena, Chairperson of the Ministry of Power and Energy, Ms. Yvonne Chin, Asia Regional Director, Canadian Corporation at the Canadian Government, and on behalf of Sri Lanka Secretary, Ministry of Power, Energy and Enterprise Development Dr. B.M.S.Batagoda signed the relevant agreement.

 Considering the memorandum submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers on the submission of proposals for renewable energy production in the Mahaweli economic zones, Cabinet approval was granted on the 28th of February 2017 for the decision of the floating solar power plant. So far, these floating light bulbs have not been built in Sri Lanka and by now no solar power plants have been installed using battery storage technology.

Canadian Commercial Corporation and Canadian Solar, a Canadian state-owned Canadian Commercial Corporation, have agreed to provide battery-powered electrical appliances, which can be used to store electricity during the night peak demand, as it is expensive at night for high demand. This will hinder the financial loss to the CEB by using diesel engines.