Supported project
Since September 2009, the small hydroelectric power plant in southern Sri Lanka has been supplying clean electricity to the island. With a capacity of 6.5 megawatts, it uses the water of the Kuru Ganga river near Kuruwita in the Ratnapura district to generate emission-free energy.
The project counts as a run-of-river power plant, which means that the water only has to be dammed during dry periods and by a small weir. Thus the environmental influences remain almost neutral, fish stocks and the entire ecosystem are not endangered. The power plant generates around 19 gigawatt hours per year for Sri Lanka’s power grid.
These replace electricity from thermal power plants that were previously used to generate electricity in Sri Lanka. The earnings obtained by the carbon offset project made the construction and operation of the new power plant possible – and, as well, some improvements for the people living in the project area.