NCP to promote gliricidia based power generation

Nimal Wijesinghe
Anuradhapura Additional - District Group Corr

The North Central Provincial Council has come forward to boost the dry zone based gliricidia biomass power in the NCP to generate electricity.

The recently established North Central Provincial Environment Authority is being entrusted with the task of promoting the gliricidia cultivation at large scale in the province and pave way to start mini gliricidia (Dendro) based power projects in the NCP in collaboration with Thirappane Labunoruwa “Human and Community Development Youth Organization” (HCDYO) which has pioneered the establishment of first such power station in Anuradhapura district at Thirappane Kattamurichchana village. An awareness programme and a comprehensive presentation on the possibility of use of gliricidia wood to produce electricity was held recently at the North Central Agriculture and Environment Affairs Ministry’s auditorium with Minister R M K B Ratnayake in the chair.

At this workshop Labunoruwa based HCDYO chairman and the Senior Project Development Engineer P R Wijewardane emphasized that the energy tree, ‘gliricidia’, is well grown under tropical conditions.

“The development of renewable energy sources has become a national priority.

The government policy is to achieve by 2020 at least 30 percent of the power generation through renewable energy sources such as gliricidia (Dendro), wind, solar power and mini hydro power stations,” Engineer Wijewardane emphasized at the presentation.

He said that coal power option is not a long term solution for present power crisis.

Interest of some personalities and organizations in the country who had an urgent need to promote the use of oil and coal to feed the national grid with electricity was puzzling, he said.

“The Labunoruwa Human and Community Development Youth Organization (HCDYO) with the Indian investment partner Ankur Scientific Technology (Pvt) Ltd invested US$.5 million to complete the 1.5 mw gliricidia (Dendro) based power plant. Two million gliricidia plants were planted in Thirappane.

Low income group farmers are earning an additional monthly income of Rs 10,000 selling wood to the power plant” Wijewardene said.

He said private sector companies such as Ankur Scientific Technology (Pvt) Ltd, India, Helios Renewables (Pvt) Ltd, India, Lanka Bio Energies (Pvt) Ltd with Chinese ties, Japan Corporate International Energy Development Lanka (Pvt) Ltd etc have agreed to invest around Rs 5000 million in putting up gliricidia based mini power plants.

Referring to Gliricidia, he said it was a leguminous tree with ability to biologically fix nitrogen.