11 October 2021 08:54 am Views - 256
By Yohan Perera
The Solar Industries Association urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in writing to intervene in stopping the delay in publishing the 140Mw ground-mounted solar power tender and take steps to maintain transparency, equal opportunity and to see that the relevant institutions adhere to least-cost principle when awarding tenders for projects.
The association said it was a historical victory for the renewable energy industry in Sri Lanka when you officially declared a target to reach 70 per cent of national demand from renewable energy by 2030.
“However, we write to inform you that the ground level reality does not reflect the same ambition of the government. We have reliably learnt that there is a delay of close to one year in publishing the next 140 Mw of ground-mounted solar power tender. We reliably understand that presently the delay is at the State Ministry of Solar, Wind and Hydropower Development.
Further, we also understand that Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) and CEB has issued provisional approvals and letter of intents (LOIs) for a capacity of 28Mw without adhering to an open competitive bidding process and without giving equal opportunity and also violating the least cost principles. You will understand that such non-transparent methodology adopted by SEA and CEB will only open doors for corruption and will eventually lead to confusion in the industry. Such moves will finally end up as barriers to achieve the target of 70 per cent renewable energy by 2030. Therefore, we are deeply distressed by this new development and urge you to intervene and correct such malpractices.
Technically well-designed transparent solar tenders which provide equal opportunity to all bidders immensely to develop the existing local new entrepreneurs and foster newcomers. Looking back at the previous tender bid prices, we have already proven that local entrepreneurs and engineers can design and develop solar plants at internationally competitive prices as low as USD 5 cents. Therefore, we request you to restrict participation for tenders below 10MV scale only to Sri Lankan solar developers by making it national competitive bidding (NCB).
Solar Industries Association is the official collective voice of more than 300 large, medium and small scale solar power development companies and individuals in Sri Lanka. Established in the year 2000, it is one of the oldest renewable energy associations in Sri Lanka. Our membership mainly comprises solar rooftop and ground-mounted solar developers. The present workforce in the solar industry exceeds 10,000 direct and indirect employees.