Community reps to tour China

COLOMBO: A team of community representatives from Kalpitiya, Norochcholai will leave for the People's Republic of China today (April 19) on a study tour of coal power plants there.

Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne has arranged this tour to clear misconceptions about the proposed Norochcholai coal power plant and offer them a clear understanding about the benefits of schemes of such magnitude.

A Power and Energy Ministry release said the 30 member team includes a member each from the fishing and farming communities in Norochcholai, two Grama Niladharis, a Govi Niyamaka, an environmental scientist, Divisional Secretary, Kalpitiya Police OIC, several members of the Kalpitiya Pradesheeya Sabha, Puttalam District Parliamentarians and some Provincial Council Members.

The release emphasised that this tour is aimed to dispel all misconceptions and rumours among the Kalpitiya residents about the Norochcholai coal power plant by enabling this team to observe and inspect urban coal power plants in China and find out whether they had caused any environmental problems as feared by some people.

Energy experts have pointed out that coal power would be the only solution to overcome the world energy crisis predicted in 2010.

Hydro electric power generation in Sri Lanka had now reached the optimum level of 37 per cent and the country had no major water resources available to launch any more large scale hydro electricity schemes in future.

The release said almost 60 per cent of the world's energy resources are produced by utilising coal power plants. India used coal power to produce 55 per cent of its energy sources while European countries used coal power to produce 65 to 80 per cent of energy. In China a majority of coal power plants are located in heavily populated urban areas and they do not cause any environmental problems or air pollution.

The only way to produce an annual energy capacity of 150 megawatts to cater to the annual 10 per cent increase in the demand for electricity and provide low cost electricity to the people is to set up coal power plants.

A unit of electricity is marketed at Rs. 7.40 and coal power will enable the CEB to provide electricity at Rs. 4.75 per unit.

The Norochcholai coal power plant will add 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid in its first phase and its 2nd and 3rd stages will add another 900 megawatts.

The Norochcholai coal power plant will also help transform Kalpitiya into a developed township and the Ministry said construction work on its first stage will be launched in the first week of May.

The China trip will also help clear people's misconceptions about the proposed coal power plants in Trincomalee and Hambantota as well.