Solar Power - The Solar Energy that illuminates The World is now in Sri Lanka

What is the main source of all energy sources on the earth? For sure, your answer would be the sun. Archaeological evidences prove that ancient people had used solar radiation and solar heat for the purposes like drying food, heating water , and preparing medicines etc. But modern man has gone far beyond that and discovered the method of converting solar energy into electricity.

Today we make our first move in the quest for renewable energy sources.In this article we are going to discuss about how we can use solar power as a renewable energy source in Sri Lanka.

Solar energy can be generated in two methods. First one is through photovoltaics (PV), also called solar cells. They are electronic devices that convert solar radiation directly into electricity. Second method is Concentrated Solar Power ( CSP). CSP uses mirror through a heat exchanger to create steam to drive the turbine and generate electricity.The main advantage of CSP over PV is that it is equipped with molten salts in which heat can be stored.

Sri Lanka is identified as a country that can make the maximum use of solar energy. Due to being a country near the equator, Sri Lanka receives significant amount of solar radiation across all the regions of the country. The Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) varies between 1247 kWh/m^2 to 2106 kWh/m^2. High intensity of solar radiation is received to the lowland areas when compared to mountaneous areas.

Although many years have passed since the introduction of solar power technology, it came into use in Sri Lanka around 1986.On September 6, 2016 the Government launched an enhanced version of the Rooftop Solar PV programme under the theme "Sooryabala Sangramaya" or Battle for solar power. Under this programme , any consumer can setup a solar power plant on the rooftop of households or companies etc. The consumer will have options to generate and use electricity in their premises. They can sell excess of electricity to the national grid. It is expected to generate 1000 MW by 2025 through this intervention.

It is pleasure to say that solar energy is used to solve environmental problems in Sri Lanka today. The best example is that solving water scarcity problem in Yala National Park. Water in the Manik river is pumped to the water bodies in Yala National Park, by using the technology of solar power.

Sri Lanka received a loan of 100 million US dollars from the export-import bank of India for solar power projects.

Due to affordable prices of solar panels and the proliferation of companies and individuals providing services in this regard, nowadays many people use solar energy to power companies and households.

In our next article, we will discuss about another renewable energy source.That is about water, which is the basis of the life.Potential energy of water is converted into kinetic energy and then electricity is generated. 20% of the local electricity requirement is fulfilled through hydropower.

So, lets dive deeper into this topic next day.Stay tuned with green hearts.

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