​ANALYZING THE CRISIS​
​Introduction
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In this case study, we aim to explain the current sources of power which Sri Lanka utilizes to meet its power demand, and the current unexploited potential of sustainable sources that are available. Drawing the line between what we do and what we could do will spread awareness on the situation at hand, and will help move more attention to sustainable energy solutions, which will in turn help solve a wide range of problems, including energy poverty.
This case study also includes multiple interviews with organizations and people, who are familiar with the local energy policies, and/or owns or runs medium to large businesses or facilities dealing with high electricity capacities. Two public surveys were also conducted to understand the opinion of the general public on various topics relating to sustainable energy and energy poverty.
One of the main reasons behind slowed commercial renewable energy developments in Sri Lanka was due to the poor power grid and road access. Numerous powerlines, electrical infrastructure, and transportation systems was damaged during the Sri Lanka Civil War, which ended in 2009, during when upgrades were not possible. This has caused serious bottlenecks in various industries and worsened the energy poverty condition in the country. Repairs and upgrades to these infrastructures were only recently commenced. Hence we hope this timely case study will help spread the awareness of Sri Lanka’s renewable energy potential, and speedily end energy poverty in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka in brief
Sri Lanka is a 65,610km2 tropical island located just off the tip of southern India. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) annual economic indicators of 2011, just over 20.6 million people live in Sri Lanka in 2010, with the year’s electricity generation clocked at 10,700GWh and the peak power demand and available power capacity at 1,955 and 2,817 megawatts respectively.
Sri Lanka’s climate consists of two major regimes; the northeast monsoon which blows from December to January, and the southwest monsoon which blows from May to September. These winds bring heavy rains to parts of the country, and are highly dependent by the local agricultural industry and for hydroelectricity generation.
The country is surrounded by low coastal plains, with altitude increasing as we to the centre of the country. Most of the 16 major rivers originate from the central region of the country. Over 26.9% of Sri Lanka or 17,670km2, are protected areas which consisting of nature reserves, wilderness areas, national parks, national monuments, area for species management, and other areas.
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Current sources of supply
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The constantly rising energy demand of Sri Lanka is met by a series of small and large power stations running on both renewable and non-renewable sources. As of late 2010, 49% of the installed capacity of Sri Lanka was derived from hydroelectricity, while the rest is derived from non-renewable sources and other smaller renewable sources.
Non-renewable sources, also commonly known as thermal sources locally, consist mainly of coal, natural gas, diesel, and other fuel-oils. These are also some of the most expensive sources with nearly doubled costs of generation and maintenance compared to all other sources. The utilization of these sources has a significant impact on the domestic and industrial consumption tariffs, and the general energy poverty situation in the country.
As of December 2010, all power stations running on natural gas, diesel, and other fuel-oils, amounted to 49.3% of the total installed capacity, a few notches more than the share of hydroelectricity. The remaining sources included 3 megawatts of government-owned wind power, biofuels such as biomass power, and other smaller sources like small-scale solar or wind.​
This table, made with values from the CEB Annual Statistical Digests and the CBSL Economic Indicators of 2011, shows the large share of hydroelectric and fossil-fuel power stations. Others renewables include smaller power stations that run on biofuels such as biomass, and small-scale wind and solar power. No coal power stations were commissioned until after December 2010. Source: Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA-3.0.
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The first 300MW of coal power in Sri Lanka, of the total planned 900MW capacity of the Norocholai Power Station, was added to the grid in late 2011. The power station, along with another planned 1000MW Sampur Power Station, will be the only allowed coal power sources in the country, according to the Ministry of Power and Energy.
Further energy sources amounting to approximately 300 megawatts, were added between December 2010 and January 2012. The majority of this included from new diesel plants and hydro power, with approximately 50 megawatts operating or under construction from sources such as biomass, wind power, and solar power.
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Interviews
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With the aim of getting valuable insight into the current renewable energy potentials of Sri Lanka and the prevailing energy poverty situation, we interviewed the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) and a few more individuals holding various energy-related designations in the society.
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Ms. J. A. T. Dilhani, engineer at the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA):
When we asked Ms. J.A.T. Dilhani, an engineer at the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, on what the potential is for energy from renewable energy sources in Sri Lanka, she explained that apart from sources under research, such as ocean energy, Sri Lanka has vast potentials of more than 10 times that of the current installed capacity, in solar and wind power.
She also explained that a large proportion of the nation’s electricity comes from hydropower, and that the potential for commercial-scale hydropower potential has been completely exhausted, with the Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project being the last major hydroelectric project. According to her, studies done partly by the SLSEA have concluded that a potential of only approximately 400 megawatts of small-scale hydropower is remaining in Sri Lanka.
She also referred us to the Ceylon Electricity Board statistics publications at ceb.lk, and also publications by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which gave us a wealth of information on the current potentials of Sri Lanka, which is detailed at the end of this case study.
Mr. Firoze Cassim – CEO, Colorzone (Private) Limited
We also interviewed Mr. Firoze Cassim, the CEO and managing director of the first, and one of the largest, screen-printing companies in Sri Lanka.
Being a company with a hefty energy requirement, we asked his comments on current energy usage, and if the current energy system is sustainable.
He responded that the productions based on the current energy management system cost them over a million rupees, equivalent to over US$7600, every month. And that the energy cost is a major limiting factor in productions and operations. He also stated that, due the company’s strategic location in an open area, it has plans on utilizing its large rooftop for solar power generation, with aims to slash energy costs by a significant amount.
The company already utilizes in-house water treatment facilities which not only avoids costs within the company, but also saves energy in local water treatment facilities, due to the company’s large water requirement.
Mr. Hisham Cassim – Director, Panorama Screen (Private) Limited
When interviewed Mr. Hisham Cassim, a Director at Colorezone’s subsidiary Panorama Screen (Private) Limited, we first briefly explained him the current state and causes of energy poverty in Sri Lanka and the world, and then asked him his opinions on if he thinks that state utility companies should work with people and companies in helping to develop self-sustainable sources of energy.
He expresses that the actions taken in urban areas does have a significant impact in rural areas, where energy poverty takes a greater toll. He continued to explain that putting pressure on the national power supply, which primary depends on expensive fossil-fuel sources, increases the average national cost of electricity, thus greatly affecting poorer people in rural areas, leading to energy poverty.
Hence, he explained, that apart from building access to electricity for poorer people, if everyone reduce their grid-based power demand, the average cost of power can be reduced as supply could be shifted to cheap renewable power, hence reducing energy poverty.
Surveys
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A total of 2 surveys were conducted with the hope of better understanding the public opinion on the current pace of sustainable energy developments, and the things being done to end energy poverty. The surveys were conducted in two different locations. The first survey was conducted in the outskirts of Maruthodai in the Northeast Province, where access to energy is low and energy poverty is common, while the second survey was conducted within the Colombo city limits, where people had trouble-free access to energy. The surveys included 15 people each; 30 people in total.
The first survey, aimed at understanding how the community copes with energy poverty and how they try to improve the situation, consisted of the following questions with the relevant results:
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Q1. Do you have access to grid-connected electricity?
• No. (6 / 40%)
• No, because it is simple too expensive. (6 / 40%)
• Yes, but it is very expensive. (3 / 20%)
• Yes. (2 / 13%)
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Q2. Do you have plans to generate your own power from renewable sources?
• No. (2 / 13%)
• No, as I won’t be able to afford it. (5 / 33%)
• Yes, after I save some money for it. (6 / 40%)
• Yes. (2 / 13%)
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Q3. Are you saving money to purchase energy efficient products in the future?
• No. (0 / 0%)
• No, as I can’t afford it expense. (8 / 53%)
• Yes, but it will take some time to collect that much. (2 / 13%)
• Yes, I do it as much as I can as it will help me in the future. (5 / 33)
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Q4. Do you expect the wider community to do more to end energy poverty in your area?
• Yes, via grid-connected clean energy sources. (9 / 60%)
• Yes, via clean off-grid solutions. (3 / 20%)
• No, I don’t expect anyone to take such responsibility. (1 / 7%)
• No, I think it is our own responsibility to make that happen. (2 / 13%)
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This survey revealed that 80% of the people in Maruthodai did not have grid-connected electricity, of which half of that refrained from it due to being too expensive. 53% of the people surveyed has some sort of plans to generate their own power using renewable energy sources, while 46% of the same group are saving money to purchase energy efficient products.
The surveyed group were also eager to get the support of the wider community for the development of off-grid or on-grid clean energy solutions; 80% was towards this.
The second survey was aimed at collecting opinions of people who think that we should do more to end energy poverty, and that stricter laws should be put in place to protect the environment. The survey consisted of the following questions and the relevant results:
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Q1. Do you think stricter laws should be in place to protect the environment?
• Yes, definitely. It should be taken way more seriously. (11 / 73%)
• Yes, but not too strict that it inconvenience people much. (1 / 7%)
• No, the laws in place should be relaxed further. (0 / 0%)
• No, the current laws are just right. (3 / 20%)
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Q2. Do you think the government should do much more energy access and renewable energy projects?
• Yes, definitely. It is currently not taken that seriously. (12 / 80%)
• Yes, but the pace it’s currently done is sufficient. (2 / 13%)
• No, too much projects are disturbing the surrounding people. (1 / 7%)
• No, as we have reached the maximum we can do. (0 / 0%)
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Q3. What are you doing to end energy poverty?
• I take responsibility of making my home as self-sustainable as possible, to reduce demand. (8 / 53%)
• I help spread the word on the potential this country has on ending energy poverty. (4 / 27%)
• I don’t believe it is my job. (0 / 0%)
• I don’t believe I have the power to make such a change. (3 / 20%)
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Q4. What do you think we as community, can do to end energy poverty?
• Pool in resources to help build powerlines, on-grid solutions, or off-grid solutions. (8 / 53%)
• Push the government to do more. (5 / 33%)
• I don’t believe we have the power to make such a change. (1 / 7%)
• I believe we are reaching the global limits in sustainable developments. (1 / 7%)
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Here in the second survey, carried out in the city of Colombo, we can see more people supporting renewable energy developments, and more people looking forward to strengthening the rules on looking after the environment and ending energy poverty. A surprizing 80% of the people surveyed thinks that stricter rules or laws should be put in place to protect the environment, using renewable energy solutions. While 93% thinks the government should do more energy access and renewable energy projects.
Of this group of people, 80% are doing something to end energy poverty, such as reducing their household energy consumption (thus reducing the total demand) or spreading the word on ways to end energy poverty.