Sri Lanka Gets First ADB Backed Agrivoltaics Project

Sri Lanka’s first Agrivoltaic demonstration project has been formally inaugurated earlier this week. The 85 kWp project, backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), working with the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) under the Ministry of Power and Energy (MOPE), the Tea Smallholders Development Authority (TSHDA) under the Ministry of Plantation Industries (MOPI), the University of Peradeniya. Local EPC firm Hayleys solar executed the project.

As a leading tea growing country, Sri Lanka’s experience will be watched closely by many in India and elsewhere too, as tea plantations take up a lot of area for a cash crop. Agrivoltaics have also been found to be a viable option for other vegetable crops like tomato’s, lettuce, bell peppers and many herbs, as long as they are raised 3 metres or more above ground level. The key innovation in the project located at Hanthana – Kandy, is the transparent solar panels that allow sunlight to reach crops.

The hybrid semi-transparent solar panel project was technically operationalised on February 29, 2024 with installation done two metres above the tea plantation . It is projected to generate electricity to power 19 households, contributing to the national grid with a 24 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery energy storage system.

The project complements the tea plants with a strategically placed LED lighting system above, creating a controlled environment for optimal growth. These LED lights leverage solar power efficiently by utilising targeted spectrums beneficial to tea plants, consuming less energy for sustainable operation, and emitting minimal heat to maintain ideal growing temperatures – all contributing to increased yields without burdening the local grid.

The facility also complements a groundwater pump with a borehole arrangement to facilitate water supply for both the tea plants at the project area and the nearby estate community.

Based on an 800-square-metre tea estate, the project is expected to generate well above 100 MWh of electricity annually.