President seeks assistance from experts in the power sector

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has called on the experts in the power sector to assist in making a significant contribution from renewable energy sources to the national grid. In a statement, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said the government has set a target to generate 70% of the total electricity demand from renewable energy sources.

The President made this observation at a discussion held at the President’s House in Colombo last evening (May 26) to look into the issues faced when obtaining the contribution of renewable energy sources to power generation.

The President said that roof-top solar panel systems should be used as an immediate solution to the ongoing power crisis. Its costs Rs.100 to generate a unit of electricity using petroleum and more than Rs.50 using coal.DamithaKumarasinghe, Director General of the Public Utilities Commission said more than USD 300 billion can be saved annually if renewable energy sources were used instead.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, said that a large area of land could be saved by utilizing the roofs of government buildings including schools and hospitals in the process of generating electricity from solar energy.