Energy Sector: Darker side, and light at the end of the tunnel

by Eng Parakrama Jayasinghe-December 29, 2020
E Mail parajayasingle@gmail.com

Those of us who were hoping for some sanity to emerge in the energy sector were given a severe jolt on 15th Dec on reading the press release from the Presidential Secretariat, presumably after the President’s meeting with the Ministers and senior officials of the energy sector. This stated that the President had given instructions to develop action plans to achieve the target of 70% contribution to the electricity sector by 2030 using Hydro, Solar Wind and LNG resources. This was indeed a shock, as this portends an attempt to constrain the space available for the future development of true renewable energy, thus scuttling the President’s declared target.

Fortunately, good sense has prevailed and the following itself an amended press release appeared without the reference to LNG as part of the 70% R E Target by 2030. It is also a matter of comfort to listen to the recordings of the above meeting, where the President was very clear in his instructions citing only hydro, wind and solar as the renewable energy sources. It is of course a matter of concern to us why bio energy which has none of the impediments of solar and wind, but has multiple spin off benefits, and has all the attributes of a source of firm power available 24/7 throughout the year, is continued to be ignored. Fortunately, there is an interest to accelerate the implementation of the many stalled renewable energy projects, thus setting the country on the correct path.

 

Role and Acceptability of LNG

Natural gas is certainly not a renewable energy resource. But is it a “clean” source of energy? Certainly, it is a lot “cleaner” than both coal and oil and is free from some most toxic components such as sulfur, lead, mercury and a plethora of heavy metals and radioactive nucleoids present in coal. But it will certainly emit…

*50% of carbon emissions compared to Coal not zero carbon as in case of Solar and Wind

*Significant amounts of Oxides of Nitrogen

*Potential fugitive emissions of Methane prior to combustion which is 23 time more potent than Carbon Dioxide.

In Sri Lanka’s context, what is even more important is the fact it is an imported resource subject to the vagaries of price fluctuations and the parity rate, continuing to compromise our energy security. LNG is the lesser evil, and in the light of the CEBs reluctance to accept the vast strides in technology which has made it possible for both Wind and solar to be upgraded to firm sources of electricity generation, and due to the lack of any significant additions to the generation capacity for over five years, limited use of Natural Gas may have to be viewed as an interim option.

Questions Needing Urgent Answers

However, a very severe uncertainty of the source and the means of supplying the LNG necessary to operate the 300 MW LNG plant, remains unresolved, and appears to be ignored, as per the information available to the general public. Sri Lanka escaped a potential disaster by not proceeding with an unsolicited proposal to set up a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) and a contract to supply LNG for 20 years on terms totally disadvantageous to us. But the Million Dollar Questions remains unanswered on…

1. What is the means of supplying LNG to the proposed 300 MW power plant at Kerawalapitiya?

2. Under whose control will such supplies, presumably from an FSRU operate, and which is the location chosen?

3. If the gas supplies are not available by the time the power plant is commissioned, will the plant be operated with diesel or some other oil and for how long?

4. What will be the extra cost of using such alternate fuels and who will bear the extra cost above the tendered price of Rs 14.85 per unit?

5. In the absence of any plans of resolving such issues, is the government still pursuing options for more LNG plants with India and Japan and now with the USA?

Under such a plethora of unanswered questions, even assuming that Sri Lanka will be obliged to proceed with the first 300 MW LNG plant, at least as a means of avoiding any more ruinous emergency power options, isn’t it time to take a very close look at the need or the justification for any further use of LNG?

As usual Sri Lanka has missed the bus in this instance too. If the first LNG plant was initiated and a viable means of supplying the LNG was initiated in 2016, we could have avoided depending on emergency power for at least two years up to now, and it would have improved the space for greater level of integration of Solar and Wind to the national grid and the consequent reduction of the huge losses incurred by the CEB annually.

 

Hope for the Future

But on a happier note, the world did not stand still, and technologies are now available to iron out variability and seasonal and diurnal nature of wind and solar energy . For example the State Minister is keen to launch the 100 MW Solar park at Siyambaladuwa and a further 100 MW of solar and 150 MW of wind power in Pooneryn very early. It is very likely that all these projects will generate electricity at costs less than Rs 10.00 per unit. Therefore the addition of adequate battery storage is feasible to at least serve the peak loads as well as to make them sources of firm power. The resultant cost may not surpass the Rs 14.85 expected from the LNG plant.

A place for Prosumers and Electricity as a National Industry

In addition the innovative program of State Minister Hon. Duminda Dissanayake to provide 5 kW rooftop solar systems to 100,000 Samurdhi recipients without burdening the treasury is a major paradigm shift in the electricity sector whereby the smallest level of consumer becomes a generator of electricity for his own consumption with a significant surplus and thus becomes a PROSUMER whereby the Electricity Industry becomes a contributor to the GDP instead of being a mere facility for other sectors to grow. With a total of 1.6 Million Samurdhi Recipients, the future potential for growth of this program is immense

As a further step in this direction the program to install micro Solar Parks of 100 kW linked to 10,000 distribution transformers will make the Electricity generation a national industry adding further to the GDP. These two programs would add 1500 MW of Solar PV and create vast employment opportunities.

We earnestly request the Hon Minster Dulles Alahapperuma and State Minister Duminda Dissanayake to very seriously evaluate this possibility. This will enable His Excellency the President to plan for the next goal of 100 % RE