Solar energy only clear option for Sri Lanka independent of fossil fuels

By Jagdish Hathiramani, sundaytimes.lk

The first impression of anyone discussing the future of Sri Lanka’s energy landscape with retired Additional General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Kanagalingam Gnanalingam, must undoubtedly be… he is steadfast in his convictions that the large-scale adoption of solar energy is the only way to achieve a Sri Lanka free from its dependence on fossil fuels.

Currently, an independent consultant volunteering for organisations focused on renewable energy issues, particularly in the area of solar energy utilisation programmes, Mr. Gnanalingam first started researching solar energy in 1970 while at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. He continues his passion for all things solar to this day, sometimes spending as much as 15 hours a day on his research since retiring from CEB (aged 55 years) and migrating to Canada in 2001.

Considering his fascination with solar energy, it should come as no surprise that Mr. Gnanalingam’s greatest influence was Sri Lankan solar energy pioneer, and his former teacher, Prof. J.C.V. Chinnappa, then Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, who now serves as an Advisor on Solar Energy to the Australian Government. While a part of Prof. Chinnappa’s team, Mr. Gnanalingam and others were credited with designing the first solar refrigerator working solely on solar energy as well as designing, constructing and testing a pressurised solar water heater in 1971.

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