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Facility to generate electricity using wood as fuel

The Ministry for Economic Reform, Science and Technology in collaboration with Lanka Transformers Limited has set up an experimental facility to generate electricity using wood as the fuel. Gasifier coupled to an internal combustion engine is used. This facility is set up at the premises of Lanka Transformers Limited at Sapugaskanda, a press release from the Ministry of Power and Energy stated.

It stated: 'this facility has the capacity to generate 35 KW of electrical power using wood fuel obtained from dedicated energy plantations set up in degraded land in the dry zone in Sri Lanka, by the Ministry for Economic Reform, Science and Technology.

'This set up will be used to carry out quantitative trials on various types of wood such as Gliricidia Acasia Leucena Casia Cinnamon and urban solid biomass wastes such as branch wood, king coconut husk etc.

'In addition this facility will train personnel from relevant institutions in the operation and maintenance of associated machinery.

'The Ministry for Economic Reform, Science and Technology is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Power and Energy in the promotion of this technology to meet the growing demand for electrical energy. Under a program supported by the World Bank, the Ministry of Power and Energy proposes to introduce at least two separate schemes of dendro power systems in Sri Lanka owned an operated by the private sector.

'In the first scheme, it is proposed to set up about 25 nos. of Off-Grid installations each with a capacity of about 40 KW. These installations will be located in rural areas which are very far away from the national grid. For these Off-Grid applications the World Bank/Global Environmental Facility program will provide an outright grant component of US$ 400 per kW.

'In the second application, it is proposed to establish 500 kW modular dendro power plants to generate and feed electrical energy to the national grid. Each of these 500 KW modular plant wood require 200 ha of energy plantation. As an initial target the Ministry of Power and Energy is planning to promote 15 nos, of 500 kW moulder plants with a total capacity of 7.5 MW with the associated energy plantations of 3000 ha.

'The World Bank through the Administrative Unit of the DFCC bank in Sri Lanka is providing a loan scheme to finance these two schemes to the private sector', the release said.

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