He said that a considerable amount of Sri Lanka’s energy come from renewable sources. There is good potential for expanding wind power in Sri Lanka but issues pertaining to storage and dispatch of solar and wind energy have to be addressed. Sri Lanka is also focusing on Biomass based energy such as Dendro Power, the Minister said.
He was speaking at the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) held from 27-29 October 2010. Minister Ranawaka visited India at the invitation of Minister of New & Renewable Energy of India Farooq Abdullah.

Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference is the fourth of a series of global Ministerial-level Conferences on Renewable Energy, engendered by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The earlier Conferences were held in Washington in 2008, Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004.

Speaking as a Panelist in the Ministerial Session of the Conference chaired by Minister Farooq Abdullah, Minister Ranawaka stressed the need for improving renewable energy as a form of mainstream energy.

During his stay in New Delhi he also held bilateral meetings with Minister Farooq Abdullah and the Indian Minister of Power Susil Kumar Shinde. He briefed the Indian Ministers on challenges and opportunities for bilateral in Sri Lanka. The Joint Declaration signed during the President’s State Visit to India in June 2010 underscored this aspect. It was noted that SAARC could take substantial initiatives to mobilize collective efforts to harness renewable energy sources in the region. The role of the public and private sectors will be indispensable in this regard. Measures to be taken to establish grid connectivity between India and Sri Lanka and the proposal to set up a coal power plant in Sampur was also discussed. Minister Ranawaka sought India’s active participation at the ‘Vidul Lanka’ Renewable Energy exhibition to be held in Colombo in August 2011.

Minister Ranawaka delivered the Keynote Address at one of the sessions of the Pan-IIT Conclave on Biomass Energy held on the sidelines of the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference. In his address Minister Ranawaka commended India for major efforts being taken towards reinvigorating the use of biomass energy and to make it a more organized sector that can significantly contribute towards welfare and well-being of people, especially the poor.

Minister Ranawaka during his stay in India visited the Dadri Coal Power Plant and the Load Dispatch Centre near Delhi, and the Nuclear Power Plant in Kalpakkam for study purposes. High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam, Ceylon Electricity Board Chairman Vidya Amarapala and Power & Energy Ministry’s Director (Technical) Merille Goonetilleke were also associated in Minister Ranawaka’s meetings and site visits.