Sunday Times 2
Rooftop Solar Power Generation pilot project faces cloudy outlook
Sri Lanka’s ‘Rooftop Solar Power Generation Pilot (RSPGP) project’ has failed to sparkle as envisioned due to shortcomings and poor quality standards of some of the local solar power companies selected as service providers, official sources said.
Even with all the checks and balances of the government, the Rooftop Solar Power Generation Project has failed to live upto expectations, Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) MP Lasantha Alagiyawanna told the Business Times
The development component of the project was to develop solar rooftop power generation sub-projects at the University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, University of Jaffna and University of Ruhuna and create solar rooftop power generation sub-projects (approximately 800kW) involving the private sector around the cities of Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna.
Under this project, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided US$50 million to the Government.
This fund has been transferred to the Ministry of Finance, which provided the equivalent Sri Lanka rupees (SLR) through participating financial institutions (PFIs) such as public and private sector banking institutions, for financing qualified rooftop solar systems in Sri Lanka. Financial grants were made to 18 entrepreneurs in the private sector to install solar panels under the project to install solar panels on the roofs of engineering faculties of the universities and private sector institutions with an estimated cost of Rs.400 million. However six of them had not completed the task, the COPA revealed.
At the inquiry, the Chief Accounting Officer of the CEB informed COPA that the project initiated as a pilot project was functioning in one institution at present and all the others are yet to complete the task. The Committee has found that the solar panels purchased by both public and private sector institutions are poor in quality.
The RSPGP has helped create bankable rooftop solar projects on a pilot basis to catalyse greater private sector finance over the long-term.
The aim was to help mainstream renewable energy development, enhance power generation capacity, and improve the environmental conditions in the country.
A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) has been set up through a Technical Assistance Programme of the ADB to facilitate the implementation of this project.
PIU has been entrusted with the task of ensuring that the rooftop solar photovoltaic systems installed adhere to the standards and guidelines established for the Rooftop Solar Power Generation Project and monitor the project progress with respect to physical installations as well as energy saved/connected to the national grid.
ADB has engaged DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Ltd, to manage the PIU. The Sustainable Energy Authority was the Implementation Agency of this Technical Assistance Programme.