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The Government of Sri Lanka has stated that they are giving solar power panels to the temples free of charge.
The Government has made claims in the recent past that they are providing solar power panels to the temples at no cost. However, there is no stipulated official
documentation to support this claim. Given the unfulfilled promises that various Governments have made to religious institutions regarding rooftop solar and
other matters in the past, we are not very optimistic this claim will materialize. Moreover, given the current economic condition in the country and the IMF
bailout currently taking place, there is very little evidence to support that the above claim will be fulfilled.
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The Government has reduced the tariffs to religious places.
There is no evidence this price revision has taken place. The Government has not lowered the tariffs for religious places. This is evident from the table below, which shows the actual data from the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (the regulator for power and energy).
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High priests and temples have enough money to install solar panels.
his is purely subjective and depends on the size and location of each temple. Some temples may have enough funds from their own sources or donations from their followers. However, there are other religious institutes and structures that may need financial assistance from external sources like Holy Solar Ceylon.
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Only the village temples need financial support, if at all.
Holy Solar Ceylon will support rooftop solar for any religious place without prejudice and on request. We are not affiliated with any political or religious organization and our purpose is to reduce the demand for electricity and thus theburden on the national grid, reduce the utilization and burning of fossil fuels to generate energy and lesson the emissions and make Sri Lanka a greener environment to live in
We don't discriminate on the location of the religious entity, the size of its devotees or any other factor. We only look at the possibility of supporting a
religious institute at their request, whether they are from the city, town or village.
When it comes to a village temple or church, our project aims to reduce the electricity costs by lowering the bill to a manageable level so that the people in
the nearby villages can easily help the priests to pay the cost. This, again, supports our project in two ways: one, it reduces the overall capital cost; two, it
strengthens the relationship between the religious entity and the people from the nearby villages/towns. We also aim to promote clean energy generation, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security, and improve social welfare among religious communities in Sri Lanka.
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Leaders of the Buddhist and Christian communities have had very close relationships with the former and current Governments. Therefore, why can’t they ask from the government
This is a matter of political preference and influence. We respect the diversity of opinions and beliefs among different religious groups in Sri Lanka, but we also
expect them to respect our project objectives and criteria. Our project is not influenced by any political party or ideology, but by scientific evidence and
technical feasibility.
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When it comes to social service projects, there are more deserving cases than this.
We acknowledge that there are many other worthy causes that require funding in Sri Lanka, but we also urge you to consider the long-term benefits of our project
for religious communities in Sri Lanka. Our project can provide clean and reliable power for 25 years, ease the financial pressure of religious entities, create jobs,
and strengthen the bonds among the community leaders and temple and also among the different faith groups in Sri Lanka.
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Why can’t the temple management team (Dayaka Sabawa) support the implementation of rooftop solar in Sri Lanka.
We agree that every temple has a dayaka sabawa to serve its temple and community. However, we want you to know that our project does not conflict with the current dayaka sabawa activities. It only enhances them by offering cleanenergy solutions that can lower the temples' operational costs, generate savings, and enable more community-based services by the religious entities.
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Why can’t HSC select the most needy temples and ask donors to contribute to part of the cost. However the Dayaka sabawa must contribute part of cost.
We appreciate your suggestion and your generosity to contribute to part of the cost of the rooftop solar project. However, we urge you to confirm your contribution as soon as possible. We also request you to consider supporting all the temples that have applied for the rooftop solar system installation, as most of them need your help.
We have carefully selected and verified the eligibility and feasibility of each temple based on electricity consumption, our project criteria and standards. We respect the dayaka sabawa of each temple, but we believe that our project can complement their efforts by providing temples with clean energy solutions that can reduce their operational costs and increase their social impact.
