India funds Sri Lanka’s first floating solar plant to power Parliament

Sri Lanka’s first floating solar power plant is planned to be built in Diyawanna Lake with the assistance of a loan from the Government of India.

The floating solar power plant, which is proposed to be constructed to meet the daily electricity requirement of the Parliament premises, has a capacity of 1.5 MW.

Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma stated that a preliminary feasibility study is currently underway.

The Minister further stated that the construction of the power plant will be expedited and the Parliament will set a precedent for the entire country regarding the concept of floating solar power plants.

The Mahaweli Authority has so far designated several reservoirs for the second phase of the new project implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Power and Energy, the State Ministry of Solar, Wind and Hydro Generation Projects Development, the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Mahaweli Authority, and the Sustainable Energy Authority.

The Minister said that feasibility studies will be conducted by the Ceylon Electricity Board on the relevant reservoirs and the reservoirs with the maximum capacity will be selected. Reportedly, the minimum capacity should be 100 MW.