Listed energy firm Vidullanka PLC has inaugurated a 10MW ground-mounted solar plant at Ranna in Hambantota — its largest to date — though the plant has in fact been exporting power since late September.

The facility was synchronised to the national grid on 23 September 2026, beginning commercial energy evacuation under a long-term power purchase agreement with the Ceylon Electricity Board, EconomyNext reported. The ceremonial commissioning followed nearly four weeks later, on 20 October.

That gap is worth stating plainly: a headline announcing a plant “commissioned” this week describes a ribbon-cutting, not the start of generation. The electricity has been flowing for a month.

What was built

The plant was developed by DPV Solar Energy (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture in which Vidullanka holds a 50 percent equity stake alongside David Pieris Motor Company. Vidullanka handled engineering, procurement and construction.

It comprises 20,496 solar modules, 34 inverters and two transformer stations, plus a newly built transmission line, and is expected to export about 19 GWh a year while offsetting an estimated 12,000 tonnes of CO2, the Daily FT reported.

Those two figures are consistent with each other. An annual output of 19 GWh from 10MW of capacity implies a capacity factor of about 21.7 percent, which is an ordinary result for ground-mounted solar in the southern dry zone. The implied emissions saving works out at roughly 630 kg of CO2 per MWh displaced — a figure that only makes sense against a grid still leaning on coal and furnace oil, as Sri Lanka’s has been through this month’s three days of scheduled power cuts.

The plant was declared open by Energy Deputy Minister Eng. Arkam Ilyas and Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority Director General Eng. Rohana Randombage.

Ranna takes Vidullanka’s solar portfolio to eight plants and 46MW. At 10MW it is the largest single asset in that portfolio, accounting for just over a fifth of it.

The two filings disagree on the battery

Both outlets report that a 4.9MW / 25MWh battery energy storage system is to be integrated at Ranna under the National System Operator’s 150MW / 600MWh BESS tender. They do not agree on its status.

The Daily FT states that Vidullanka “submitted winning bids to implement 18.7MW/93MWh of battery energy storage systems at its operational solar plants” under that tender, Ranna’s 4.9MW among them — reported as settled.

EconomyNext is more cautious. It says DPV secured an allocation at a tariff, but that the formal award remains outstanding, “subject to the successful outcome of ongoing technical evaluations and the subsequent receipt of the formal Letter of Award.”

A secured allocation and a signed award are not the same thing, and readers of the two filings would come away with different impressions of how firm the battery is. The Daily FT item reads as a company announcement; EconomyNext carries the qualification.

One arithmetic note on the storage: the national tender averages four hours of duration (150MW against 600MWh). Vidullanka’s bids run longer — 93MWh against 18.7MW is about five hours, and Ranna’s 25MWh against 4.9MW is 5.1 hours. Longer-duration batteries hold charge further into the evening peak, which is precisely the window the recent cuts targeted.

The same consortium is also developing Lot 2 of the 50MW Mullikulam wind project, where the Daily FT says it was the lowest-cost bidder.

Not reported

Neither filing gives the capital cost of the Ranna plant, the tariff under the CEB power purchase agreement, or the BESS tariff. Neither says when the battery would be installed if the award is confirmed, nor when Mullikulam Lot 2 is expected to reach financial close. Neither outlet reported the site area or the construction timeline.

Spelling differs between the two: EconomyNext writes “David Peiris Group,” the Daily FT “David Pieris Motor Company.” The latter is the registered form and is used here.