Govt. catalogues four coal, LNG power plants to stimulate power production

 

To jumpstart long-delayed generation plans Cabinet approved multiple power plants this week to be quick-tracked for completion including two 300 MW coal power plants, while also dusting off two 300 MW LNG power plants and considering renewables worth as much as $100 million.

No power plants have built-in Sri Lanka in the last five years. In 2014 the Norochcholai power plant's second and third phases were completed, adding 570 MW to the national grid. A 60 MW plant installed in the following year but since then power plants listed in the Sri Lankan Public Utilities Commission's (PUCSL) Long Term Generation Plan were limited to paper.

Over the past four years, repeated Cabinet approvals have struggled to see any implementation on the ground with a lot of confusion and cancellations. This week, Cabinet re-examined some of the previously listed plants, including the 300 MW LNG plant to be constructed in Kerawalapitiya as a joint venture with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) with Indian funding.

Following high-level discussions between Sri Lanka and India, this plant was initially granted Cabinet approval in September 2018 as a 500 MW joint project with Indian company NTPC. According to a statement from the press issued at the weekly Cabinet briefing, Power and Energy Minister Mahinda Amaraweera's proposal also included the development of a coal-fired power plant. The plant in question involves a capacity of 600 MW as an extension to the existing Norochcholai power plant.

Another sizeable coal-fired power plant, however, will be in contravention of the President's Office's announcement this month that Sri Lanka would seek 80 per cent of renewable energy by 2030. Environmental severe issues about coal-fired power plants have also raised, and Sri Lanka is now among the countries most impacted by climate change, experts said.

"In Kerawalapitiya, acceleration of construction activities of a second LNG plant with a capacity of 300 MW proposed with funding from the Asian Development Bank," the Cabinet paper stated.

In addition to two LNG power plants and the massive coal power plant, the Government is also looking to accelerate the development of already under development hydropower plants and regeneration power projects. The focus will also give on the swift implementation of solar energy projects that can fund under an Indian Government grant of $100 million.

Cabinet also gave the approval to contract installation of new equipment in thermal power plants for a separate Cabinet report. The expansion of the Kelanitissa 132 kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) thus commenced. The objective was to connect the 132 Busbar in the Kelanitissa grid substation with proposed gas turbines. The Cabinet of Ministers, therefore, approved the proposal submitted by the Minister of Power and Energy to grant the contract for the procurement, installation and supervision of two 145 kV Double Busbar (GIS) and the contract for the administration, evaluation and measurement of 145 kV Double Busbar (GIS) to the original supplier, Asea Brown Boveri Lanka Ltd.

OSL Take: With LNG exploration becoming a possible business prospect in the country, investors who become pioneers in capitalising on this stand to enjoy huge benefits. The Cabinet of Ministers, therefore, approved the proposal submitted by the Minister of Power and Energy to grant the contract for the procurement, installation and supervision of two 145 kV Double Busbar (GIS) and the contract for the administration, evaluation and measurement of 145 kV Double Busbar (GIS) to the original supplier, Asea Brown Boveri Lanka Ltd.

 VBS/AT/20200907/Z_TB4