VATIS UPDATE Article

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $50 million loan to help fund rooftop solar power generation systems in Sri Lanka to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the country’s energy mix. ADB will also administer a $1 million technical assistance from the Asian Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.

This will help build capacity, ­increase awareness of stakeholders, and support the project’s implementation in Sri Lanka. ADB’s Rooftop Solar Power Generation Project will boost access to clean and reliable power in Sri Lanka. Specifically, the project will finance rooftop solar power subprojects equivalent to additional capacity of 50 megawatts while building capacity and awareness of relevant authorities, private sector partners, and customers.

It will also develop a market infrastructure and bankable pipeline of subprojects for the solar power systems through greater cooperation with private financial institutions and the establishment of technical guidelines and standards for the system. Total cost of the project is $59.8 million, to which the private sector will provide a $9.8 million equity contribution. The project’s expected completion date is the end of 2021.