Private-owned 150MW solar energy project gets underway in Hambantota

By Yohan Perera

A private-owned 150MW solar power plant at the Hambantota Solar Energy Park is set to become operational soon, a senior officer attached to the project shared this week. 

The project’s Consultant Engineer Thilanka Bandara told journalists that the plant would be connected to the national grid by 2027. The US $ 150 million project is a joint venture between DH Energy Singapore and Greentech Capital, a local company.

“The two companies will be jointly running the project for 20 years and will hand it over to the government,” Bandara said. The project is expected to create 300 direct employment opportunities, along with additional indirect opportunities. It will offer opportunities for skilled labourers, contractors, engineers and technicians, contributing significantly to the province’s infrastructure development. Plans are afoot to launch agricultural projects, under which mushrooms and other crops will be grown. It is also expected to offer an eco-friendly solution to the human-elephant conflict.

Bandara revealed that the project has been set up on land that was previously used to collect materials such as rocks for the Southern Expressway. The project is presented as a permanent solution to the annual power cuts faced by the people in the Southern province during the dry season. It is also in line with the government’s plan to increase the contribution of renewable energy to 70 percent by 2030.

The project was officially confirmed by the Hambantota District Development Committee and has obtained the necessary approvals and licences from the relevant institutions, as per the current laws in Sri Lanka. The Court of Appeal has also given the green light for it.