Non-conventional Renewable Energy(NRE) Based Electricity in the Grid NRE Resources include small-scale hydropower, biomass including dendro power, biogas and waste, solar power and wind power. These are the leading sustainable, non-conventional forms of renewable energy promoted in Sri Lanka for electricity generation into the grid. In addition, other NRE resources such as wave energy and ocean thermal energy are also encouraged where appropriate. Commercial development of biomass will be encouraged and facilitated as a new rural industry, allowing rural poor to engage in fuelwool farming and participate in the mainstream economic activity by supplying electricity to urban load centres. The Government will endeavour to reach a minimum level of 10% of electrical energy supplied to the grid to be from NRE by a process of facilitation including access to green funding such as CDM. The target year to reach this level of NRE penetration is 2015. A review of technical limits and financial constraints of absorbing NRE will be carried out an will be followed by a technical and financial barrier removal exercise, with external support and expertise where necessary. The NRE strategy shall not cause any additional burden on the end use customer tariffs. If justified, the Government may subsidize the energy utilities for this purpose. The Government recognises that certain NRE technologies would require incentives to ensure their capacity build-up to contribute to the national NRE target. These incentives shall be provided on a competitive basis, in which the NRE developlers shall bid for a share of the NRE target subject to a price ceiling. NRE incentives shall be technology-specific and based on actual energy supplied to the grid. To make available the incentives for NRE technologies, the Government will create an 'Energy Fund', which will be managed by the ECF. This fund will be strengthened through an energy cess, grants received from donors and well wishers, as well as any funds received under CDM. This fund will be used to provide incentives for the promotion of NRE technologies and strengthen the transmission network to absorb the NRE technologies into the grid. NRE developments will not be charged any resource cost(royalty) for a period of 15 years from the commercial operation date. Resource costs charges from selected NRE technologies after the 15th year of commercial operation shall be used to