LTGEP’s envisaged energy mix in 2030

• Solar – 24.7% 
• Wind – 15.5% 
• Hydro – 24.6% 
• Biomass – 4.7% 
• Natural gas – 10.56% 
• Coal – 20% 

The State-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is at odds with the Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA), claiming that the authority has issued licences to Renewable Energy (RE) developers without consulting the CEB and obtaining its technical recommendations, The Sunday Morning learns.

A senior CEB official who wished to remain anonymous told The Sunday Morning that the SEA had issued licences to renewable energy developers without consulting the CEB on the technical capabilities of the projects to supply energy to the national grid through the existing transmission network. As a result, pressure has mounted on the SEA from the developers to implement the projects.

“How can the SEA issue licences without evaluating the technical capabilities of the project? The transmission network in some areas has to be developed and a huge amount of money has to be spent on infrastructure development, which cannot be done overnight. It takes some time to upgrade the country’s transmission network and until the network is upgraded, the existing infrastructure needs to be utilised,” the senior official explained.

As reported by The Sunday Morning last week, the SEA blamed the CEB for implementation delays faced by certain projects, including large-scale renewable energy projects, alleging that the expansion of the transmission network was the responsibility of the CEB and that the expansion delay was due to the CEB.

Nevertheless, the allegations levelled by the SEA have raised concerns as to whether the CEB would be able to meet the country’s 70% renewable energy target by 2030. This is in a backdrop where the SEA has claimed that a number of projects have faced delays due to transmission line issues.

Govt. renewable energy plans

In September 2021, the Government declared its policy on the electricity sector, highlighting the need for the development of indigenous resources to their fullest potential. The current policy for the electricity industry is given in the document titled ‘General Policy Guidelines in Respect of the Electricity Industry’ as approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in November 2021 and issued by the Ministry of Power in January 2022.

In this document, the Government has outlined its vision of achieving 70% electricity generation from renewable energy resources by 2030.

As highlighted in the report on the way forward for integration of renewable energy resources to the national grid from 2023 to 2026, in order to achieve 70% electricity generation in the country by 2030, it is necessary to add 5,766 MW of renewable power capacities, namely 151 MW from major hydro, 175 MW from mini hydro, 3,805 MW from solar, 1,475 MW from wind, and 160 MW from biomass during 2023-2030.

According to the Long-Term Generation Expansion Plan (LTGEP), the envisaged electrical energy mix in 2030 consists of 24.7% electrical energy generated from solar, 15.5% from wind, 24.6% from hydro, 4.7% from biomass, 10.56% from natural gas, and 20% from coal.

As highlighted in the report, the total investment required during the period 2023-2030 for renewable generation capacities, associated storage, and related transmission infrastructure is $ 11,200 million. Additionally, the natural gas-driven thermal generation fleet will require an investment of $ 1,001 million.

The power plant additions proposed in the base case of the draft LTGEP for years 2023 to 2026 show that the majority of the capacity additions are from renewable energy sources, especially from wind and solar PV. Accordingly, solar PV additions amounting to 1,795 MW, 575 MW of wind power, 90 MW of mini hydro, 80 MW of biomass, and 188 MW of major hydro, all totalling 2,728 MW of renewable power have been proposed in the plan.

Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 2,500 MW of additional renewable energy capacities including rooftop solar could be absorbed into the national grid by 2026.

CEB delays

In such a backdrop, SEA Chairman Eng. Ranjith Sepala said that the authority had already issued permits for a number of projects, but noted that there was a delay on the part of the CEB, primarily because the CEB had not finalised the matter of the power line.

“The CEB should decide on the transmission line after evaluating grid stability. There are several new projects that have come to the SEA, but the issue is that there is no finalisation regarding the power line and how the power purchasing agreements will be signed. Several projects have already been lined up. We have already issued permits and decided where the energy should be purchased from,” he said.

Sepala went on to explain that for most of the projects, the transmission line would have to be updated.

“We have mentioned this when we called for new tenders. The investor is aware that either the CEB or the investors will have to upgrade the transmission line. If the upgrade is done by the investor, the CEB will have to pay for it,” Sepala said, adding that although several projects had come to the authority, the power line issue remained unresolved, creating a serious delay in implementing the projects.

Earmarked RE projects

Nevertheless, as per the CEB’s short-term plan on renewable energy from 2023-2026, it has identified four projects, namely the 50 MW Mannar wind power project extension (CEB), the 250 MW Mannar wind power project (IPP), the 100 MW Pooneryn wind power project phase I (IPP), and the 50 MW Sampur solar project (IPP) as candidate projects for the next three years.

To achieve the Government’s target of drawing 70% of electrical energy from renewable resources by 2030, the CEB has appointed a committee headed by CEB General Manager Eng. Rohan Seneviratne.

This committee is expected to prepare a comprehensive programme to fast-track the implementation of ongoing and new renewable energy projects which are the candidate projects governed/administered by the energy permits/provisional approvals granted by the SEA in line with the principles established by REDMAP for the medium term period (2022-2026).  

These projects also make it feasible to connect with the existing transmission and distribution networks of the CEB without substantial investment for the expansion of the transmission and distribution network.

The committee is also entrusted to identify the transmission and distribution network development needs to absorb the renewable energy projects identified to be implemented from 2022-2026 and to achieve the 70% target by 2030.

Accordingly, the CEB General Manager has appointed a committee to develop appropriate business models for the implementation of ongoing and new renewable energy projects. In addition, the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy has appointed another committee to prepare future plans for implementation of renewable energy development projects.

As per CEB statistics, a total investment of around $ 2,268 million is required to add around 2,500 MW of capacity between 2023 and 2026.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, CEB Chairman Nalinda Illangakoon said that there was no delay on the part of the CEB and that the board was implementing the short-term renewable energy plan prepared by it to add around 2,500 MW of energy to the national grid by 2026 as a first step, with small changes made to the transmission network.

“This is a very technical area that should be handled carefully. We are implementing proper plans to achieve the Government’s target of 70% renewable energy by 2030. This has to be done very carefully,” he said.