Religious places opting for solar power

Over 25 religious places across the country have installed roof top solar panels from the 2022 Indian credit line of US$100 million to pay for at state buildings and religious institutions, with many more opting for it, officials said.

For the past two years many have been opting for this – especially after the 2021 electricity tariff increase by 75 per cent after nine years, they added. The credit was to promote Buddhist relations between Sri Lanka and India. Under this project, relief should be provided to Buddhist temples and institutions operating as teaching centres of all religions. “The electricity generated by it will be given to the national grid for electricity consumption in religious places of worship,” a state official said.

He added that measures are underway to provide solar panels at low interest rates to the public by the Energy and Finance Ministries.

He added that the “Rooftop Solar PV Power Generation Project” providing electricity consumers with long-term debt financing for installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic power generation systems with a credit line of $50 million through a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is also progressing.

The credit line is managed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and funds are channeled to the beneficiaries through selected banks (Participating Financial Institutions -PFI). The technical support is provided by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in close collaboration with MoF, Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development (MoPE) and Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA).