Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP
Sri Lanka announced plans on Tuesday to urgently set up battery storage for solar energy and use it during the nighttime peak demand currently met by coal and diesel powered generators.
Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said a 50-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) would be launched immediately as part of a 300-megawatt solar power system.
“The Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal to set up batteries which will store solar power for 40 hours,” Media minister Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo.
Faced with an energy shortage due to supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict, Sri Lanka has raised fuel and electricity prices by as much as 40 percent.
Since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, triggering retaliatory attacks that disrupted global energy supplies, Sri Lanka has rationed fuel.
Sri Lanka is also observing a four-day working week, while ordering streetlights and advertising illuminations to be turned off.
Public servants have been asked to switch to table fans instead of air conditioners, despite the country facing its hottest period, when daytime temperatures reach 38C.
The Cabinet of Ministers, which met on Monday, also decided to seek international funding for a proposed $800 million, 600-megawatt hydroelectricity project that could become the island’s first pumped-storage power station.
The Maha Oya project is expected to pump water back to the reservoir during periods of low electricity demand and draw from it when demand is high. It is expected to be online by 2031.
Much of Sri Lanka’s electricity at night is currently generated by a 900-megawatt coal power station and another 1,000 megawatts from diesel generation.
aj/mtp
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