Sri Lanka to approve efficient solar systems
View(s):Sri Lanka has taken steps to approve hybrid inverters in the country through a draft specification published by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) this month.
“The use of hybrid inverters are not allowed as at now but this may change in the near future, as anticipated by many consumers and solar system providers in the country,” Founder/Managing Director of Innovative Smart Solutions (Pvt) Ltd Jeremy Fernando said.
Draft specification prepared by the SLSI has been released for public comments, which will be open till early May.
“Approval for these inverters would mean that Sri Lanka would be able to deploy much more efficient solar energy systems than what is currently used today,” Mr. Fernando said.
At present, On-Grid or Grid-Tied inverters are deployed in Sri Lanka, in the absence of hybrid inverters.
The “grid” is the Electricity Supply and Distribution Network maintained by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) or the Lanka Electricity Company Ltd (LECO).
On-Grid inverters are designed to operate only when grid power supply is available, and they should shut-down during power failure or when the grid power is terminated for grid maintenance.
Currently used On-Grid inverters are capable of sending (exporting) energy to be stored in the Grid. Hybrid inverters in comparison are capable of storing energy in batteries as well as exporting energy to the grid. Compared with hybrid, On-grid inverters are unable to store energy in batteries, which is the main difference between the two types of inverters, it was noted.
Consumers need to be aware that hybrid inverters are capable of operating with or without grid power which means power generation will continue as long as solar energy or the battery power is available, even during grid power disruptions.
These hybrid inverters are costlier than On-Grid as they have additional technology, which is needed to handle battery storage, confirm safety when Grid power supply is terminated and may cost approximately 50 per cent more than an On-Grid inverter.
While battery storage is not essential for an inverter to function, without it hybrid inverters will shut down during grid power failure at night.
Therefore it is not viable for a hybrid inverter to operate well without battery storage.
Most hybrid inverters can be deployed with Lead-acid or Li-ion batteries with the former a cost-effective option and the latter a more efficient, productive and durable one.
In future, Mr. Fernando explained it is expected that hybrid inverters will pave the way for solar self-consumption, where generated solar energy will be used by consumers without exporting to the Grid.
Moreover, with sufficient battery capacity, consumers will be able to use low cost stored energy during peak demand that will also help the CEB/LECO to manage energy demand better, without investing heavily on SmartGrid technology.
This standard was approved by the Sectoral Committee on Electronics Engineering and was authorised for publication as a Sri Lanka Standard by the Council of the SLSI.