70. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires :—

“biomass energy” means the energy that can be derived out of converting the form of material that is generated out of a biological process, by processes such as combustion, fermentation and digestion;

“Committee” means the Project Approving

Committee established by section 10 of this

Act;

“developer” means a person to whom a permit is issued under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 18 of this Act, to carry on an on-grid renewable energy project;

“energy conservation” means the foregoing of certain non-essential services delivered to a user, by either complete stoppage of the service or the curtailed delivery of the service;

“energy efficiency improvement” means the adoption of efforts to decrease the actual energy consumption required to deliver a particular service, without affecting the quality of the service so rendered;

“green funds” means the funding available for initiatives taken to preserve the environment and the ecology of the planet, which may or may not be available at concessionary terms;

“hydro energy” means the energy that can be derived from a moving body of water, through processes such as reaction and impulse;

“off-grid renewable energy project” means an installation which converts one form of renewable energy to another form of energy for

Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority consumption within a local area and which may or may not be carried on within any

Development Area;

“off-grid energy consumer society” means any organization representing the energy user community duly registered with the relevant

Provincial Council, for the development and utilization of renewable energy resources within a particular geographical area, with the object of generating and distributing electricity to its members, through a distribution network not connected to the national grid;

“on-grid renewable energy project” means an installation which converts any form of renewable energy to electricity and feeds electricity thus generated to the national electricity grid operated by Ceylon Electricity

Board and which is carried on within any

Development Area;

“permit holder” means a person to whom a permit is issued under paragraph (a) of section 25 of this

Act to engage in an off-grid renewable energy project;

“Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka” means the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka established by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka Act, No. 35 of 2002;

“renewable energy resource” means the sources of kinetic or thermal energy stemming from either solar or geothermal activity, which can be harnessed within the territory of the Republic of Sri Lanka, without affecting the ability of the future generations to harness it for their use, and includes biomass energy, hydro energy, solar energy and wind energy;

“rural energy services” means the basic energy requirements of a rural community or a rural enterprise, which cannot be met by modern commercial energy supply channels, such as the national electricity grid or petroleum products distribution channels;

“solar energy” means the energy that can be derived from solar radiation, by intercepting, concentrating and focusing or by any other means;

“sustainable energy” means any energy resource which can be harnessed for useful work, without affecting the ability of the resource to provide the same level of utility in the future; and

“wind energy” means the energy that can be derived from a moving mass of air through processes such as reaction and impulse.