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| Sunday, 15 August 2004 |
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Renewable energy subsidy to be increased to Rs 150 m by Hiran H.Senewiratne The Government is likely to increase the solar energy or renewable energy subsidy from Rs 100 to 150 million after the next budget, according to power-sector sources. The government is committed to support this sector since it is a safe and cost- effective method of generating power in the country, the of Power and Energy Minister Susil Premjayanth said. He said that the government is allocating Rs 100 million as a subsidy from the budget annually for the renewable energy sector and increasing of this amount by a further Rs 50 million would be a possible move at the next budget. Minister also said that this subsidy would cover 50 per cent of the total installation cost for a household, which is the government's obligation to promote this energy source for the country's electricity need. President of the Solar Industry Association Pradeep Jayawardena said that Sri Lanka is already a successful model in the area of solar energy, which is supported by the World Bank. He said that at present the subsidy is confined only to three regions including the North and East, Uva and Sabaragamuwa. We are currently lobbying to extend the subsidy to other regions as well. He also said that more than 500,000 homes islandwide have been electrified through solar energy,which is worth Rs 600 million. However, the industry is expecting to install 100,000 solar power systems by 2007. Jayawardena said that many developed nations like Germany, Japan and the USA are widely using renewable energy and Sri Lanka could obtain assistance from those countries. |
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