Lanka targets more power from renewable sources

Wasantha Ramanayake

Sri Lanka has set a difficult target to increase non-conventional, renewable energy to ten per cent from current level of four by 2017, said Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Senevirathne addressing Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) 2008, in Washington D.C, USA, recently.

"Our renewed pledge on renewable energy stems out from the unbearable cost of fossil fuel burdening my country at present," the Minister said. He added that this is valid for all countrymen around the globe.

The Minister emphasised that the shift from fossil fuel to non-conventional energy and the reduction of the energy use are the two options currently available.

He said the Sustainable Energy Authority was the "flagship" of the host of programmes to achieve the goals of increasing the renewable energy and energy efficiency. "The destiny of the human race as we know is threatened, since our society are built on energy."

"Unless we take meaningful, but painful decisions right now, the human race may soon become dysfunctional if not extinct like the dinosaurs," the Minister argued. He pointed out that the human civilisation has a long way to go."If the human race started to walk on this planet midnight yesterday and if the time is 9.00 o'clock you will be surprised to know that we started using fossil fuel three seconds ago."

The Minister attributed focuse of the global attention on renewable energy ws based on three grounds; ever escalating prices of fossil fuel, the effects of climate change and most importantly the clear nexus between the provision of energy and the sustenance of economic development.

He emphasised the importance of the energy to a developing country like Sri Lanka. "Per capita energy consumption in Sri Lanka is roughly one tenth of that of the USA and when we compare the economic output of the two countries we see the same proportions of disparity."

"We see modern energy forms as the pathway to economic freedom of the individual citizen," the Minister said.

Sri Lankan Ambassador Bernard Gunathilalke, CEB Chairman Udaya Sri Kariyawasam, Sustainable Energy Authority Chairman Ananda Gunasekera participated.

The conference which was the third ministerial level conference on renewable energy, following the events at Beijing, and Bonn in 2005 and 2004 respectively took place in Washington DC from March 4 to 6. Power Ministers representing 131 countries participated where the keynote address was by US President George W. Bush.