List of power stations in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's electricity demand is currently met by nine thermal power stations, fifteen large hydroelectric power stations, and fifteen wind farms, with a smaller share from small hydro facilities and other renewables such as solar. Most hydroelectric and thermal/fossil fuel–based power stations in the country are owned and/or operated by the government via the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), while the renewable energy sector consists mostly of privately run plants operating on a power purchase agreement with the CEB.[1]

The installed electrical capacity and production of Sri Lanka by sources, from 2000 to 2018.

Per CEB's 2016 generation report released in mid-2017, the country has a total combined installed generation capacity of 4,017 megawatts (MW), of which 2,115 MW (52.65%) was from thermal (900 MW/22.40% from coal and 1,215 MW/30.25% from fuel oil), 1,726 MW (42.97%) from hydroelectricity, and the remaining 176 MW (4.38%) from other renewable sources such as wind, biomass, and solar. These generation sources produced a total of 14,149 GWh of electricity during that year, of which 9,508 GWh (67.20%), 4,220 GWh (29.83%), and 421 GWh (2.98%) was from thermal, hydro, and other renewables, respectively.[1]

Non-renewable

As of 2015, 1,464 MW of the total thermal installed capacity was from state-owned fossil fuel power stations: 900 MW from Lakvijaya, 380 MW from the state-owned portion of Kelanitissa, 160 MW from Sapugaskanda, and 24 MW from Uthuru Janani. The remaining 641 MW of the installed thermal capacity are from six privately owned power stations. All thermal power stations run on fuel oil, except Lakvijaya, which run on coal.[2][3]

In an attempt to lower the current consumer tariff for electricity, the government has decided not to renew the power purchase agreements of privately owned thermal power stations when their licences expire, as it has done with the six now-decommissioned private power producers listed below.[4] The government will utilize the new Sampur plant combined with new renewable sources to accommodate the lost private-sector capacity, with plans to introduce nuclear power after 2030.[5]

The 500 MW Sampur Power Station was in early stages of development since 2006, but was subsequently cancelled in 2016 due environmental concerns.[6] Prior to its cancellation, the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy also made a statement that no more coal-fired power stations will be commissioned, making Lakvijaya the only coal-fired power station in the country. Any future thermal power stations will also be natural gas–run, to reduce the nation's carbon footprint.[7]

Coal-fired power stations in Sri Lanka
Station Closest city Location Capacity (MW) Owner Notes Ref
Lakvijaya Puttalam 08°01′06″N 79°43′22″E 900 Government   [2][3]
Sampur Trincomalee 08°29′10″N 81°18′00″E 500 Government Cancelled [6]
Oil-fired power stations in Sri Lanka
Station Closest city Location Capacity (MW) Owner Notes Ref
Kelanitissa Colombo 06°57′14″N 79°52′37″E 360 Government   [2][3]
Yugadanavi Kerawalapitiya 07°00′40″N 79°52′30″E 300 Private   [3][8][9]
Sojitz Kelanitissa Colombo 06°57′06″N 79°52′31″E 172 Private   [2][3]
Sapugaskanda Sapugaskanda 06°57′39″N 79°57′40″E 160 Government   [2][3]
Ace Embilipitiya Embilipitiya 06°17′06″N 80°50′56″E 100 Private Decommissioned [4]
Heladhanavi Puttalam 08°00′46″N 79°52′13″E 100 Private Decommissioned [4]
Colombo Port Colombo 06°57′12″N 79°51′21″E 60 Government   [3][10]
Asia Power Sapugaskanda Sapugaskanda 06°57′22″N 79°56′54″E 51 Private   [3]
Northern Power Chunnakam 09°44′19″N 80°02′04″E 36 Private   [3]
Ace Horana Horana 06°43′57″N 80°08′17″E 25 Private Decommissioned [11]
Ace Matara Matara 05°59′07″N 80°33′49″E 25 Private   [4][11]
Lakdhanavi Sapugaskanda 06°57′28″N 79°57′03″E 24 Private   [3]
Uthuru Janani Chunnakam 09°44′27″N 80°02′00″E 24 Government   [3]
Aggreko Chunnakam 09°44′25″N 80°02′06″E 20 Private Decommissioned [3]
Koolair Kankesanthurai 09°48′40″N 80°02′07″E 20 Private Decommissioned [3]
Chunnakam Chunnakam 09°44′30″N 80°02′03″E 14 Government Decommissioned [3]
MSW-fired power stations in Sri Lanka
Station Closest city Location Capacity (MW) Owner Notes Ref
Aitken Spence Colombo 07°00′59″N 79°52′14″E 10 Private Under construction [12]
Karadiyana Colombo 06°48′57″N 79°54′11″E 10 Private Under construction [12]
KCHT Lanka Jang Colombo 07°00′59″N 79°52′14″E 10 Private Under construction [12]

Renewable

Hydroelectric
See also: List of dams and reservoirs in Sri Lanka

Hydroelectricity has played a very significant role in the national installed power capacity since it was introduced in the 1950s, with over 50% of the total grid capacity met by hydroelectricity in 2000–2010. Hydroelectricity was popularized as early as the 1920s by Devapura Jayasena Wimalasurendra, who is considered as the "Father of Hydropower" in Sri Lanka. It lost its majority share on the power grid when further thermal power stations were introduced in 2010. The hydropower resource in Sri Lanka is divided into two main regions based on water resource, namely the Mahaweli Complex and Laxapana Complex.[13][14]

While most hydroelectric power stations are named after their water source (i.e. the name of the dam and/or reservoir), a number of facilities have different names due to the fact that they are located larger distances apart (connected via underground penstocks). Further information on each power station is included in the corresponding water source article (i.e. dam). Privately owned "small-hydro" facilities (which are limited to a maximum nameplate capacity of 10 MW by state policy),[15] are excluded from this list.

Hydroelectric power stations in Sri Lanka
Station Region Water
source		 Location Capacity
(MW)		 Commissioned Notes Ref
Victoria Mahaweli Victoria 07°12′00″N 80°48′21″E 210 October 1984   [2][3][16]
Kotmale Mahaweli Kotmale 07°07′41″N 80°34′42″E 201 April 1985   [2][3]
Upper Kotmale Mahaweli Upper Kotmale 07°02′32″N 80°39′24″E 150 July 2012   [2][3][17]
Randenigala Mahaweli Randenigala 07°12′08″N 80°55′35″E 126 July 1986   [2][3]
Samanala Other Samanala 06°35′03″N 80°48′29″E 124 October 1992   [2][3]
Uma Oya Mahaweli Dyraaba 06°46′09″N 81°05′43″E 120 2018 Under construction [18]
New Laxapana Laxapana Canyon 06°55′05″N 80°29′31″E 100 March 1983   [2][3]
Kukule Ganga Other Kukule Ganga 06°37′00″N 80°16′33″E 80 July 2003   [2][3]
Polpitiya Laxapana Laxapana 06°58′40″N 80°27′24″E 75 February 1974   [2][3]
Canyon Laxapana Maskeliya 06°52′09″N 80°31′40″E 60 March 1983   [2][3]
Rantembe Mahaweli Rantembe 07°12′00″N 80°57′00″E 52 January 1990   [2][3][19]
Wimalasurendra Laxapana Castlereigh 06°54′31″N 80°31′30″E 50 January 1965   [2][3]
Old Laxapana Laxapana Norton 06°55′07″N 80°29′30″E 50 December 1950   [2][3]
Bowatenna Mahaweli Bowatenna 07°39′51″N 80°40′38″E 40 January 1981   [2][3]
Ukuwela Mahaweli Polgolla 07°23′56″N 80°39′08″E 40 July 1976   [2][3]
Broadlands Laxapana Broadlands 06°59′01″N 80°25′34″E 35 2017 Under construction [20]
Moragahakanda Mahaweli Moragahakanda 07°41′59″N 80°46′11″E 25 July 2016   [21]
Inginiyagala Other Gal Oya 07°39′50″N 80°40′39″E 11 1951   [2][3]
Udawalawe Other Udawalawe 06°25′55″N 80°51′02″E 6 April 1969   [2][3]
Nilambe Mahaweli Nilambe 07°11′48″N 80°36′44″E 3.2 July 1988   [2][3]
Deduru Oya Other Deduru Oya 07°43′06″N 80°16′28″E 1.5 November 2014   [22]
  • The Victoria Dam fuels the single largest hydroelectric power station in the country, with 210 MW of installed capacity.[16] Shown here is the dam during dry season, 2011.
  • The Upper Kotmale Dam under construction in April 2011. The dam is now complete and powers its 150 MW power station located 13 km away.[17]
  • The Randenigala Dam as seen from the Rantembe Reservoir in December 2012. The Rantembe Dam is located just 3 km downstream of Randenigala.[19]

Solar power

Solar power is a relatively young segment in the energy industry of Sri Lanka. As of 2015, only a few grid-connected solar farms were operational, including a state-run facility. Despite at least half a dozen private companies applying for development permits for photovoltaic and solar thermal projects,[23] most have not actually commenced construction.

Solar farms in Sri Lanka
Solar farm Location Capacity (MW) Owner Notes Ref
Hambantota 06°13′34″N 81°04′35″E 1.2 Government   [23][24]
Laugfs 06°13′47″N 81°04′48″E 20.0 LAUGFS Holdings   [25]
Maduru Oya 07°38′53″N 81°12′25″E 100.0 Mixed Proposed [26]
Sagasolar 06°13′54″N 81°05′08″E 10.0 Sagasolar Power   [27]
Solar One Ceylon 07°58′30″N 81°14′10″E 12.6 Windforce   [28]

Wind power

Sri Lanka's wind power sector saw activity as early as 1988, when studies were conducted to build a pilot wind project in the Southern Province. More than a decade later, the state-owned 3 MW Hambantota Wind Farm was commissioned. The industry stayed dormant till 2003, when the National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted further wind power studies in the island, before which the industry went into dormancy for a further seven years.[29]

Unlike the other industries, Sri Lanka's wind energy industry witnessed a sudden boom in 2010, with the commissioning of the Mampuri Wind Farms, the first private-sector wind project in the country's history.[30][31] It then suddenly crashed over the following four years after numerous scandals and hidden political dealings surfaced, involving key governing bodies such as the Sustainable Energy Authority and Ceylon Electricity Board, along with a number of senior individuals.[32]

The last privately owned first-come, first-served style wind farm projects, the Pollupalai and Vallimunai Wind Farms, were completed in late 2014, by when the construction of new privately owned wind farms were suspended until further notice by presidential order.[32] The largest private-sector beneficiaries of the "wind power boom" are Windforce and Senok, which currently own seven and three separate wind farms respectively, of the total of 14 privately owned wind farms in operation as at 2015.[33] The other companies in the market include the semi-private LTL Holdings, Aitken Spence, and Willwind, which are currently operating four wind farms in total.[23]

Wind farms in Sri Lanka
Farm Location Capacity (MW) Owner Operator Notes Ref
Ambewela Aitken Spence 06°50′36″N 80°48′47″E 3 Aitken Spence Ace Wind Power   [23][34]
Hambantota 06°08′46″N 81°06′47″E 3 CEB CEB Decommissioned [35][36]
Madurankuliya 08°00′46″N 79°43′37″E 12 Windforce Daily Life Renewable Energy   [23]
Mampuri-I 08°00′37″N 79°43′24″E 10 Senok Senok Wind Power   [23][37]
Mampuri-II 07°58′35″N 79°43′53″E 10.5 Senok Senok Wind Energy   [23][37]
Mampuri-III 08°00′35″N 79°43′44″E 10.5 Senok Senok Wind Resource   [23][37]
Mannar Island 09°03′01″N 79°47′13″E 103.5 CEB CEB [38][39]
Nala Danavi 08°05′23″N 79°42′33″E 4.8 LTL Holdings Nala Danavi   [23][40][41]
Nirmalapura 07°57′53″N 79°44′07″E 10.5 Windforce Nirmalapura Wind Power   [23][42]
Pawan Danavi 08°02′56″N 79°43′08″E 10.2 LTL Holdings Pawan Danavi   [23]
Pollupalai 09°34′40″N 80°19′12″E 12 Windforce Joule Power   [23][43]
Seguwantivu 08°02′48″N 79°48′54″E 9.6 Windforce Seguwantivu Wind Power   [23][44]
Uppudaluwa 07°58′52″N 79°46′33″E 10.5 Windforce PowerGen Lanka   [23][45]
Vallimunai 09°33′54″N 80°20′12″E 12 Windforce Beta Power   [23][46]
Vidatamunai 08°04′00″N 79°47′38″E 10.4 Windforce Vidatamunai Wind Power   [23][44]
Willwind 06°36′40″N 80°44′44″E 0.85 Willwind Willwind   [23]

See also

References
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  5. "CEB includes nuclear power in generation plan". Lanka Business Online. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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