"This kind of study can't be done instantly so we are looking at a 20 year plan to get it implemented."
Sri Lanka delayed setting up cheaper coal power plants as the island large hydro power locations ran out.
Instead the country depended on diesel power plants. But a coal power plant with Chinese financing is now being built in Sri Lanka's Western coast.
Sri Lanka is an island 225 kilometers wide and 435 kilometers long.
The Korean International Co-operation Agency is gifting Sri Lanka a 400kiloWatt solar plant costing 4.5 million US dollars which will help study the commercial viability of generating power from sunlight officials said.
The plant is expected to be running within an year.
Corrected