Sri Lanka’s first-ever agrivoltaic power plant declared open

Solar Universe, a 10MW ground-mounted solar power plant in Vavunativu, Batticaloa, was declared open on Tuesday (Oct. 11).

Taking to his Twitter handle, Minister of Power & Energy Kanchana Wijesekera stated that this is the agrivoltaic power plant in Sri Lanka.

It is co-owned by several private organizations namely Vidullanka PLC, Wind Force (Pvt) Ltd. and HIENERGY Services.

A total of 20GWh is expected to be added to the national grid annually from this power plant.

The construction of this 10MW ground-mounted solar power plant began in September 2021.

The Solar Universe plant will consist of plots of land allocated to local farmers who may tend to the crops they grow and subsequently sell their harvests; paving the way for an additional source of income for them. After considering the climate and soil profile in the area, crops such as peanuts, green chillies, beans, turnips and watermelons are already in the process of being grown there.

Solar Universe 10 MW Ground Mount Solar Power Plant in Vavunativ, Batticalao was opened this morning. Invested & developed by Wind Force, Vidu Lanka & Hi Energy, it is the 1st Agrivoltaic Power Plant in SL. It will add 20 GWh annually to the National Grid. pic.twitter.com/2GFYiUDUTv

— Kanchana Wijesekera (@kanchana_wij) October 11, 2022