Helios Renewable Energy Foundation – Who they are and what they do:

Helios REF is a UK charity established following the successful private funding of a 5.5kW PV installation on a water filtration plant in Sobithagama, Sri Lanka, completed in July 2024.

The mission of Helios REF is to prevent and relieve poverty in Sri Lanka and Nepal by facilitating the provision of renewable energy to communities in need.

What NEF Does with Helios REF:

In 2024, NextEnergy Foundation initiated a partnership with Helios REF to install three 5-5.5kW PV systems in three schools located in Panama, within the Eastern District of Sri Lanka. This region was severely affected by the 2004 tsumani.

Panama, located in Ampara District, is a diverse and large community comprising Sinhalese and Tamil people. The community is served by three schools: a Sinhala Primary School, a Tamil Primary School, and a shared Secondary School. This project promotes reconciliation and fosters sustainable community development by utilizing solar energy to alleviate poverty. It aims to help all member of the Sinhalese and Tamil Communities live together in harmony.

Helios REF’s Trustees have personally visited the schools, which serve a total of 1,094 students, as detailed below:

• Sinhalese Primary School: 83 students
• Tamil Primary School: 78 students
• Secondary School: 933 students

The solar systems will be connected to the national grid (Ceylon Electricity Board – CEB), allowing excess solar energy to be exported. This will earn each school a “feed-in-tariff”, which will further supports the development of the schools’ structures. The project’s aim is to reduce the current high cost of electricity required to operate all aspects of the schools, including the water filtration system, which is currently only available in the Sinhalese Primary School.

The revenue generated from the exported electricity will enable the schools to purchase clean water from a filtration system, manage the computer lab in the senior school, and maintain a refrigeration system for storing medication.

Addittionally, each of the three installations is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 4 tonnes of per year, leading to a total reduction of around 12 tonnes of CO₂ annually for the project.