Around 100,000 Samurdhi beneficiary households will receive solar electricity under President’s “Vision of Prosperity” which aims at generating eighty percent of the country’s electricity using renewable energy sources by the year 2030, Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development State Minister Duminda Dissanayake said.
The Ministry is planning to install 100,000 solar panels initially which will be provided under a low interest loan scheme which could be payable in seven years. “This will benefit Samurdhi families since there is no initial payment and the electricity will be free,” Minister said.
The country would benefit economically and environmentally as dependency on thermal electricity could be reduced minimising the impact of carbon emissions on the environment, the Minister said.
The Minister said he had discussions with the Chairman and the senior management of the Peoples’ Bank in this regard. The Minister emphasised the need to have a low interest rate without any initial payment and to limit the repayment period to seven years.
The Bank officials had discussed the implementation method, repayment and providing an insurance coverage to the equipment.Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) Chairman Ranjith Sepala stressed that the installations should be carried out according to SEA standards.
The Minister said allocations have been made through the 2021 Budget to set up 10,000 mini solar farms at village level. The Ministry has planned to increase electricity generated through mini power plants to the national grid through the selected transformers islandwide.