Garbage power
Wasantha Ramanayake
COLOMBO: Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Senevirathne yesterday in
Colombo issued the Letter of Intent to a private company to purchase
electricity generated from the country’s first ever solid waste based
Refuse Derived Fuel power plant, which claimed to have the capacity to
solve permanently the city’s garbage problem.
The Letter of Intent was issued to Colombo Renewable Energy Private
Limited which would invest US$ 100 million to construct and operate a
plant in Muthurajawela using state-of-the-art Plasma Gasification
technology.
According to the Company’s Managing Director D. Lakshman Perera
initially 100 tons of compost residue from municipal solid waste would
be fed to the Plasma reactor of the power plant under the first phase.
However, upon the completion of the project the plant would have the
capacity to use 1,000 tons.
Managing Director Arman Massoumi of Plasma Renewable Energy Company,
Malaysia indicated that the technology is a controlled partial oxidation
that was different from the combustion in the incinerators and clean
from green house gases (GHG) and ash. He pointed out that technology was
highly efficient and it would not have secondary waste disposal.
Minister Seneviratne expressed confidence that once fully implemented
the plant would generate 40 MW of clean renewable energy while
eliminating the garbage menace from Colombo.
The Minister said that the letter of intent to the Colombo Energy
Company would herald a new era since it would address permanently the
garbage problem in the Colombo City and the much needed electricity.
The Minister also disclosed an attractive cost based, technology
specific tariff system had been offered not only for investors in the
mini hydro projects but also wind biomass, municipal and agricultural
waste and waste heat recovery projects.
The Minister invited the investors to invest in the renewable energy
sector which he claimed to have a brighter future due to the Policies
and the unwavering support of the government: “the unwavering policy
environment, economic viability and government support I see a brighter
future for Renewable Energy in Sri Lanka.”
The Minister lauded President Mahinda Rajapaksa for recognising the
importance of the power sector in development. He pointed out that the
energy policy approved by the Cabinet had recognised energy security and
the promotion of indigenous material in power generation as an
alternative to the fossil fuel such as diesel.
“We are gradually but steadily moving in the right direction to
reduce our dependence on the oil for power generation.” But he said that
the process would take around five years after the commissioning of the
coal fired power plant. He expressed confidence that the Upper Kotmale
Hydro Power Plant and the Norochcholai Coal Fired Power Plants would be
operational by 2010.
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