Daily News Online
   

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Home

 | SHARE MARKET  | EXCHANGE RATE  | TRADING  | OTHER PUBLICATIONS   | ARCHIVES | 

dailynews
 ONLINE


OTHER PUBLICATIONS


OTHER LINKS

Marriage Proposals
Classified
Government Gazette

Lanka takes over Norochcholai plant

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), stepping forward in the mission to supply electricity to all, took over the administrative and operational work of the Lak Vijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai from the Chinese main contractor China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation recently.

The commissioning of Lak Vijaya power house was a milestone in the drive to make Sri Lanka the energy hub of the region. Being the first coal fired power plant in the country, the entire system of operation has been a novel experience to the Sri Lankan engineers and workers.

After receiving first hand training on the administrative and operational activities from the Chinese, the CEB now operates 90 percent of the work in the power house. Joint operations with the Chinese will continue for another four weeks aiming for a smooth transition.

National grid gets 900 megawatts

Lak Vijaya adds 300 megawatts to the national grid under the first phase of the project. Another 600 megawatts to be generated from the plant after the completion of the second phase, lifting the total power generation capacity to 900 megawatts.

According to the Ministry calculations, the present power demand of the island is about 2500MW and it can rise up to 2800 megawatts in the near future. In this light, Norochcholai power house was a long awaited and long overdue project which had to be in the development queue awaiting the green light for commencement.

The idea of coal power plant in Norochcholai can be traced back to 1990s but it was repeatedly postponed due to discrepancies with the environmentalists.

However, balancing both development and environment efficiently, Lak Vijaya had been planned keeping in line with all environmental norms and international environmental standards.

Track of the project

CEB Chairman Prof Wimaladarma Abeywickrama explaining the progress of the project said the first phase of the contract was completed on February 13, 2011, which is 11 months ahead of the scheduled time. The contract started in July 23, 2007 for a period of 57 months.

The Sri Lankan government had spent Rs 5300 million for the first phase and the Chinese company had provided USD 455million at two percent reduced interest rates. President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the plant on March 22, 2011.

The first phase also included a transmission line of 117 kilometres in length to Veyangoda grid substation, and from there the power has been added to the national grid. The contribution of 2200 Chinese workers and about 800 local labourers had been received during this phase.

The resettlement of 80 families in newly constructed alternative houses with all amenities and infrastructure facilities, and renovation of roads had also taken place with the launch of the project.

The contribution of Sri Lankan government for the second phase will amount to about Rs 8000 million while US$ 891 million will be provisioned through a Chinese loan at reduced interest rates.

A transmission line to Anuradhapura will also be built under this phase.

The Chairman also observed that since the unit price of coal is still comparatively low, Lak Vijaya will enable the CEB to provide electricity at internationally competitive prices even after adding freight charges.

Coal importation

Lak Vijaya Coal Power Plant Deputy General Manager Saliya Panditharatne explained that only quality coal consignments had been imported to the country concerning environmental impacts.

Presently those consignments are being imported from Indonesia under a three-year agreement. The coal is unloaded mid-sea and transported through barges to the jetty.

Then the coal is being inserted into a 500m long conveyor belt to transport those loads to the coal yard that has the capacity to store about 0.8million tonnes of coal. A wind barrier was built on the sides of the coal yard to prevent coal dust being dispersed to villages with the wind.

He observed that a coal consignment imported at a time is carrying about 75,000 tonnes. He also revealed that another two shipments would be brought into the country shortly.

"When the power house generates 300 megawatts it consumes 114 tonnes of coal per hour. About 12 tonnes of coal ash is gathered per hour as a result of this process. Several cement companies have already made agreements to buy fly ash from us." he noted.

Technical outlook

A painstaking complicated technical process applies from the initial step of coal insertion to the ultimate result of illuminating a bulb. The power plant uses auto diesel when starting and finishing off. The plant gradually shifts to coal combustion and operates entirely from coal thereafter.

The coal is pulverized before inserted into the burner.

Then a turbine operates using the steam coming out and as a result power is generated through generators. Most of these technologies and equipment are being utilized in Sri Lanka for the first time.

Sea water is being used after a desalination process for cooling purpose since ground water resources cannot be used for this purpose. Panditharatne said that they release clean water back to the sea after ensuring the temperature of the water is not more than seven Celsius degrees of the normal sea water temperature.

"Presently the temperature of this water is just above five degrees of the normal sea water. We strictly adhere to this standard to avoid any environmental concern. This water regains the normal temperature within a 150m sea area", he explained.

Flue gas goes through a process of desulphurization while more options are added to prevent producing certain harmful gases. Panditharatne reiterated that the smoke released to the air is minimal and does not contain harmful gases. "Only the steam which is harmless is being emitted largely to the air," he said.

Operational activities

The generation of power from this plant had been temporarily stopped five days during the Sinhala Hindu New Year since the demand is low. "If the demand is lower than 90 megawatts it cannot be operated from coal. Therefore we decided to suspend the power generation during this period.

Then again on May 20 we had to close the plant for maintenance work and recommenced on June 4. Then a technical problem occurred on June 7 and we could rectify it and resume work after July 10.

"We have been generating power from the plant since then without any interruption. Occurrence of technical problems during the first year of commissioning is normal since we carry out various tests. However we have also signed an agreement of defect liability period with the contractor keeping this in mind." the CEB Chairman noted.

He also pointed out that operating the plant in its full capacity when it is turned on is good for the maintenance of a coal power plant. "In this manner we will be able to supply power from this plant without any problem in the next 20 years," he observed.

 

EMAIL |   PRINTABLE VIEW | FEEDBACK

ANCL TENDER for CTP PLATES
www.defence.lk
Donate Now | defence.lk
www.apiwenuwenapi.co.uk
LANKAPUVATH - National News Agency of Sri Lanka
www.army.lk
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL)
www.news.lk

| News | Editorial | Business | Features | Political | Security | Sport | World | Letters | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House Copyright © 2011 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Comments and suggestions to : Web Editor