Green Energy Champion Project ends on high note

President Maithripala Sirisena and German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Jörn Rohde officially handed over the facilities awarded for the winner of the Green Energy Champion competition, including a solar PV system, which now powers the Ananda College hostel, at a ceremonious event tagged ‘Harithananada’. 
Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya was also amongst the dignitaries invited to the event.
The German Foreign Affairs Ministry together with the Sri Lanka Power and Renewable Energy Ministry, project implementing partner Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and supporting partners – Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) and Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association (SLEMA) – launched the Green Energy Champion Sri Lanka initiative, a countrywide competition to identify and recognize innovative ideas on improving energy efficiency and encouraging the use of renewable energy in Sri Lanka, in summer 2016. 
The project comprised a twofold approach including a cross-media campaign as well as the islandwide Green Energy Champion competition.
Ananda College Colombo handed in a holistic approach to energy efficiency, which was implemented in autumn 2016. The implementation measures included the installations of a PV-system generating over 24,000 kilowatt hours annually, upgrading of the school’s already existing composting system and introduction of a waste management system. Further, several awareness trainings with more than 7,000 students and teachers were carried out.
Rohde said, “I am very happy to see that Sri Lanka has chosen to participate in the combat against global warming and that a steady shift to renewable energy sources is gaining momentum. Through the project ‘Green Energy Champion Sri Lanka’, the German government, represented through the Federal Foreign Office, sought to support these ambitions by enhancing the awareness of Sri Lankans of energy efficiency and energy innovations.”
The countrywide competition saw over 80 green energy ideas from individuals, local government institutions, community-based organisations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Post the preliminary screening, a jury consisting of all stakeholders involved finally decided on the winning green energy proposal at a special meeting held at the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority office.  
Sri Lanka has excellent conditions for using solar energy, biomass and wind energy. Whereas it has almost fully exploited its hydropower capacities, the government currently explores other electricity generation options. 
Germany, the world’s fourth largest economy, is currently pioneering an epochal transformation it calls the Energiewende – an energy transition which will substantially change the energy portfolio of the European country. Nuclear power, coal, gas and all other fossil fuels shall finally be replaced by renewable energy sources. Succeeding in this approach will lead to ambitious emission cuts Germany has promised: by 2020, a 40 percent cut from 1990 levels and at least 80 percent reduction by 2050.