The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $50 million as loan to develop 50 MW of rooftop solar projects in Sri Lanka. This will help diversify the Sri Lankan energy sector.

An ADB release stated, “the 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.”

The loan will help develop 50 MW of rooftop solar. The total cost of the 50 MW project is $59.8 million, out of which the private sector will provide $9.8 million as equity contribution and the remaining is being provided by ADB as loan. The proposed rooftop solar project will be developed by the end of 2021.

The ADB will also administer a $1 million technical assistance from the Asian Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility to help build capacity, increase awareness of stakeholders, and support the project’s implementation in Sri Lanka.

“Sri Lanka’s energy sector has made tremendous progress over the last two and a half decades in bringing electricity to almost everyone in the country,” said Mr. Mukhtor Khamudkhanov, an ADB Principal Energy Specialist.

“But there is a need to diversify the country’s energy mix toward more renewable and sustainable sources,” added Mr. Khamudkhanov.

In August, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted a joint study with UN Development Program (UNDP) and found that Sri Lanka can meet its current and future electricity demand through the use of renewable energy by 2050. The loan approval shows ADB’s commitment towards furtherance of renewable energy in Sri Lanka.

In 2017, Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sector has received much needed financial push from international institutions. Prior to the ADB loan, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member, pledged investing $100 million to boost financing for renewable energy projects in Sri Lanka.