SHDA to invest Rs. 20b on hydro power projects
Lumbini Edirisinghe
The contribution to the national grid from local mini hydro plants is
more than five per cent.
More Mini Hydro plants will be built and between 250 MW to 450 MW are
targeted to be generated within the next three years,” said Vice
President, Small Hydro Development Association, (SHDA) Prabodha
Sumanasekara.
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A mini Hydro power project in Olu Ella Yatiyantota Picture by
Saliya Rupasinghe |
“The Small Hydro Development Association will invest twenty billion
rupees to construct Hydro projects which are expected to be completed in
four years. Last year SHDA initiated twenty mini hydro projects,” he
told Daily News Business.
Hydro power projects are environmental friendly. They do not emit any
polluted matters to the environment. It’s the best way to generate
electricity without harming the environment including living beings.
At present it’s also the cheapest way to generate electricity in
contrast to other methods such as thermal power, diesel power, coal
power and nuclear power.
However, there is a lot of red tape to develop mini hydro projects
especially upcountry. One major problem is that it takes two or three
years to obtain approval from the government. “We have made a series of
representations to successive governments. However, the delays are still
continuing,” he added.
The World Bank has said that Sri Lanka’s mini hydro projects are the
most successful and remarkable energy producing projects in the world.
Many developing countries in Asia are currently poised for rapid
economic growth and industrialization. The energy demand of these
countries is therefore expected to increase significantly in the future.
“Many have said that Hydro power projects would be the answer to meet
this demand,” he said.
Asian countries such as China, India, Vietnam and Nepal have
aggressively pursuing Hydro power successfully and have the capacity to
generate 17,000 MW, 138 MW, 61.4 MW and 8.7 MW. |
