India & Sri Lanka Sign JV For Solar Power

• India's NTPC will work in a joint venture with Sri Lanka's CEB to realize a 100 MW solar power plant in the island nation
• The solar power plant is planned to be located in Sampur where under a previous plan the duo would have worked on a coal power facility
• Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said India will encourage and facilitate the effective and expedited completion of the project

NTPC Limited of India and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) through their joint venture (JV) Trincomalee Power Company Limited (TPCL) will develop a 100 MW Solar Power Plant in Sampur town of Sri Lanka under a Joint Venture & Shareholders' Agreement (JVSHA) signed between the duo.

The High Commission of India said the agreement was signed at the Ministry of Finance of Sri Lanka. It is part of the 2 countries agreeing to enhance investments from India in various sectors of Sri Lanka that are aimed at growth and generating employment.

"We will continue to encourage and facilitate the expedited and effective implementation of this project," stated the Indian High Commission and added that there is significant interest among private sector on both sides for cooperation in renewable energy which is likely to increase in the coming years.

According to local media reports, Sampur was earlier earmarked for a 500 MW coal power plant to be built by the NTPC and CEB, a plan that was later scrapped by Sri Lanka owing to resistance from locals and environmentalists. Sri Lanka also decided to pursue renewable energy ambitions, targeting to meet 70% electricity requirement of the country from clean energy by 2030.

Sri Lanka is also one of the signatories to the No New Coal Power Compact along with Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Montenegro and the UK (see Coal Power's Clout Diminishing).

Previously, India extended a $100 million credit line for Sri Lanka through its EXIM Bank for the island nation to finance solar energy projects (see India PV News Snippets: MNRE, Fortum, EXIM, Tata, Mercom).

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), at the end of 2020 Sri Lanka's cumulative installed renewable energy capacity was over 2.35 GW to which solar PV technology's contribution was around 230 MW.