Informa Markets in India, India’s leading B2B exhibitions organizer, brought in the 4th edition of the much-awaited Renewable Energy Growth Forum at BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The two-day conference, which was held on 10th and 11th March 2022, was well supported by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Construction Industry, Green Building Council of Sri Lanka.
The forum was inaugurated and represented by stalwarts of the RE industry that included Dr Sulakshana Jayawardena, Director General, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy; Mrs Shirley Jayawardena, President, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL); Mr Hemantha Samarakoon, Secretary to the State Ministry of Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects; Mr Ranjith Sepala, Chairman, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority; Ms Irina Thakur, First Secretary (Commerce & Culture), High Commission of India, Colombo, Sri Lanka; Mr Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India and Mr Rajneesh Khattar, Sr. Group Director, Informa Markets in India.
The Sri Lankan government aims to be an energy self-sufficient nation by 2030. Its objective is to increase the power generation capacity of the country from the existing 4,043 megawatts (MW) to 6,900 MW by 2025 with a significant increase in renewable energy. The country has already achieved grid connectivity of 98 percent, which is relatively high by South Asian standards. Electricity in Sri Lanka is generated using three primary sources: thermal power which includes coal and fuel oil, hydropower, and other non-conventional renewable energy sources (solar power and wind power).
Speaking at the inauguration of the 4th edition of RE Growth Forum Sri Lanka, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India said, “Sri Lanka is a promising RE country with favourable conditions for generating electricity from renewable sources, especially solar. While the country’s annual total electricity demand is about 14,150 gigawatt-hours (GWh), the annual demand for the same is expected to increase by 4.9 per cent over the next 20 years. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Energy initiated the implementation of a nationwide program for the expansion of solar energy, Information Classification: General as the country aims to equip one million households by 2025 with photovoltaic systems that will feed an additional 1,000 megawatts into the power grid. With the public lacking information about alternative energy sources and conscious use of electricity the RE Sri Lanka Growth Forum aims to create more awareness and initiate discussions on the roadmap for the industry.”
The two-day conference brought together ideators and stalwarts sharing their thoughts and vision towards cleaner, greener earth. The power-packed sessions deliberated on topics such as Global Solutions in the RE space; Future of Energy Solutions in Technology and Innovations; Scope Scalability and Success in Utility-Scale vs Distributed Generation; Doing Business in Sri Lanka – Commercial Business Guide; Moving Forward – Technology that Matters and more.
Day 1 began with an inaugural session on ‘Striking a Chord – With Net Zero Emission!’ that deliberated on assessment of the Sri Lanka power Sector, RE Vision, Policy, Trends, Global Market, Bilateral Trade Benefits and Opportunities and Building Energy. It was followed by a session on ‘A Bilateral Partnership with Global Solutions – Mission 2022 & Beyond’ that discussed the Advantage of Bilateral Trade Agreements, Adoption of Technology, Power Parity, and Beyond. ‘100% Renewable Energy in Sri Lanka by 2050 panel session spoke about Market Potential, Funding Transformation, Policy Advantages, Investment Required and Risk Involved. ‘Future of Energy Revolution in Technology & Innovations!’ did a reality check and showcased the benefits of technology adoption with best practices and case studies in RE and Clean Energy Sector. ‘Scope, Scalability & Success – Utility-Scale v/s Distributed Generation’ spoke about modalities, costs of constructing, and commissioning of the distributed and utility-scale projects with projections over the years.
Day 2 had sessions on topics such as ‘DOING, Business in Sri Lanka – Commercial Business Guide!’; ‘Going Forward – Technology that matters!’; ‘Wind Energy Opportunities & Challenges..!!’; ‘Concepts and Designs: Sowing Seeds of INNOVATION’.
