By Prof. O. A. Ileperuma
Department of Chemistry
University of Peradeniya
The present power cuts have prompted everyone to talk about the inefficient energy management in the country, lack of proper planning and the lack of political will to implement already formulated plans. The result is that millions are made to suffer due to power cuts affecting industrial productivity and also during recent times very adversely affected those students who sat their GCE (A/L) examinations. According to Police, the crime rate has soared by about 40% owing to power cuts alone.

Central planning in the energy sector is done by the Energy Planning unit of the Ministry of Power and Energy. According to their estimates, the country needs 3652 MW of power by the year out of which only 1356 MW are available from hydro power. Knowing very well that a coal power plant takes at least several years to complete, what have they done ? Installation of diesel powered off shore power plants which could give a maximum of only 150 MW is not a solution to our energy problem. Their projected plans formulated nearly five years back included the addition of a coal fired power plant by the year 2000 and due to political reasons arising from the objections of a few fishermen and clergy these plans have been shelved.

Sri Lanka is a country where people are everywhere and invariable some people get affected by any development plan be it a widening of a road or a mega project such as Mahaweli. Development for the benefit of the country should go unabated in spite of such objections. A case in point is the garbage problem in the city of Colombo. When the world bank was willing to fund the construction of a sanitary landfill near Hanwella, objections from environmental groups and a few people shot down this proposal . As a result garbage is still dumped in low lying marshes resulting in all sorts of environmental problems including malaria and dengue. This illustrates the futility of trying to please everyone and the impediments in trying to create a healthier environment for the majority of our people. The same applies to the proposed Norochchalai power plant which was to be located at a place where there are only a few inhabitants.

Due to various objections from pressure groups, politicians have wilted in their mission for their own political survival without any considerations towards the general well being of the country. It is pertinent to note here that the Mahaweli project of the previous government resulted in a massive relocation of people. People accepted this verdict since it is for the overall good for the country. Similarly those fishermen who would have lost their livelihood had the power plant came into operation could have been easily relocated after persuasion and suitable compensation. Moreover, several thousands of jobs would have created which certainly could have improved the quality of life in that area. Thus, it is no surprise that the late Mr. A H M. Ashraff was willing to consider locating the coal power plant in the east. Instead of just jumping the bandwagon and opposing every move for the betterment of the country, just like it happened with the sanitary landfill at Hanwella, these NGO’s and the Catholic priests in the area should have insisted on proper environmental safeguards and allowed this coal plant to come into operation.

The whole country is now suffering for this lack of political will on the part of our leaders. The inefficiency of the ministry in charge of energy and corrupt officials are responsible for this sorry state of affairs. It is no secret that certain people have become millionaires through these unscrupulous deals while the country at large suffers from power cuts. The Ceylon electricity board is buying power from a foreign operator at Rs. 12 a unit and selling the same to the public at around Rs. 4 per unit thereby incurring massive losses to the Board. Eventually it is the customer who has to pay for all these in the form of increased bills. If coal is so environmentally bad then they should have at least gone for a power plant using naphtha as the fuel which is economically competitive with coal at the present time. However there are other energy options which the ministry of power and energy are not concerned with and the purpose of this article is to highlight some of them. These other options are more relevant to a country such as ours because of its small size and high population density.

To supply the projected power increases what has the Power and Energy ministry done up to now ? At least the commissioning of the 800 MW coal power plant in the year 2000 would have given us some breathing space. Although it is environmentally unfriendly, it would have been the best alternative in the current energy scenario. This kind of indecisiveness would have far reaching economic and social implications with the real prospect of several factories closing down if the power cuts continue. It will be very difficult to attract potential foreign investors to start factories in Sri Lanka given this situation simply because there is inadequate power from the main grid. The result is more unemployment, more social unrest and increasing crime rate.

The world population which now stands at 6 billion has doubled in the last thirty five years and over populations is the major problem faced by the world today. It creates political unrest, ethnic wars and increased crime and violence. The populations of some countries in Asia and Africa have doubled in the last twenty years. This problem is further aggravated by the disparities between developed countries and those which are still developing. The western model of development blindly adopted by many in the developing world has created an unprecedented demand for energy which in turn has led to the use of dirtier fuels like coal. Asia is the region with a phenomenal economic growth and along with this, the other side of GDP(garbage, dust and pollution) have also increased. In fact on the state of the environment in Asia the Asian Development has this to say,

"Asia’s environment has become so polluted and degraded that it poses a threat not just to the quality of life of its people, but also to its economic prospects of the world s 15 most polluted cities, 13 are ,in Asia as are the most populous countries.

Despite rapid and steady growth of income, at least one in three Asians still has no access to safe drinking water and at least one in two has no access to sanitation. The costs of this neglect of environment are massive. Children who ingest lead lose precious IQ points. They and their parents also suffer from chronic respiratory conditions and other ailments. Unsanitary living conditions and polluted water cause a variety of other gruesome conditions" (ADB-1997)

Sri Lanka has one of the highest population densities in the world. It is much higher than the corresponding numbers of both India and China. In future, energy demands for new factories and also for domestic purposes requires the commissioning of coal fired power plants. We have developed almost all our hydro resources and diesel power plants are increasingly commissioned to provide for the increased demand. The other alternative is naphtha but all these petroleum based fuel will be depleted in the next 50 years. Coal resources will then be increasingly used to provide energy since coal deposits are expected to last for at least 200 years. However the use of coal definitely damages the environment and there is already evidence that acid rain from coal power plants in countries such as China and India are falling in Sri Lanka. Thus it is imperative that our energy planners who have only coal in mind when they plan for future energy should look up to other renewable sources of energy in their future energy policy planning.

Renewable sources of energy include hydroelectricity, geothermal energy and wind power, tidal energy and solar energy. Most countries in the west have plans to replace around 50% of their national energy needs with renewables by the year 2050. This is not be¢ause they do not have other energy sources such as coal but because they are well aware of the environmental damage caused by burning coal. The acidic gases given out during coal combustion give acid rain which damage sensitive ecosystems. Computer models predict that nearly 40% of Sri Lanka will receive acidic depositions from neighbouring countries due to increased coal use in their power plants. The threat of acid rain on agriculture is yet to be estimated but we know already that the alpine forests in western Europe are dying due to acid rain and fish populations in Scandinavian lakes are diminishing due to acid rain.

As an energy resource there is nothing to beat the sun which will outlast all other sources of energy specially the fossil fuels. The sun is the original source of energy stored in petroleum deposits. It gives the equivalent of the total world’s energy requirement for an year in a single day. If 10% of the Sahara desert is filled with solar panels, it is enough to provide power to all countries in the world. It is the cleanest energy source and causes zero damage to the environment. The only problem with solar energy is that the solar panels which convert solar energy to electricity are still expensive specially for developing countries. However the price of these silicon type solar cells which constitute the solar panels is expected to come down with increasing demand. The estimated current cost of coal power per unit of electricity is Rs. 3.38 compared to Rs. 5.90 for combined cycle diesel power.

However these figures do not account for environmental costs involved from loss of agricultural productity and also transmission costs. When these costs are taken into account the cost of solar cells become competite. The estimate given for solar power is Rs. 35.76 per unit according to the calculations of the Power Generation unit of the Ministry of Power and Energy appears exceptionally high. This figure is perhaps for a large scale solar power plant with expensive storage facilities and the important point which planners have forgotten is that stand alone photovoltaic systems can be much cheaper to cater to domestic needs specially in the rural sector. If solar power is effectively utilised for providing power to homes, then the hydroelectric power can be diverted to industries. Calculations done by Indian policy planners show that stand alone photovoltaic power can be even cheaper than coal power.

These calculations given in Indian rupees per kilowatt hour should be of interest to our energy planners and are given below;

Solar power is cheaper if the power line has to extended beyond 3 km specially in hilly areas where the load requirements are only a few kW.

There is yet another and a much cheaper way of converting solar energy to electricity. This is the solar chimney which consists of a tall chimney and a large glass roof at a small height from the ground. Sun’s rays warm the air below which then moves upwards and turbines can be operated to produce electricity. This requires no expensive solar panels, there is no pollution and no fuel required. A 50 kW plant built in Spain at a cost of US$ 7 million has been operating for the last five years now and it is now possible to build such solar chimneys producing 100 MW or more in the future.

There is generally a tendency to view solar energy as something expensive, exotic an economically not feasible. Companies shy away from investments in solar energy and the ignorance of policy planners on the use of solar energy more than anything else keeps solar energy out of the energy equation. With the population explosion in the third world and the attendant pressure on energy supplies urgent decisions should be made to survey a future energy crisis specially at the time of depletion of all petroleum resources.

How solar energy can be utilised

Many rural areas are still not connected to the main grid and providing electricity to these areas is a costly exercise. In Sri Lanka there is an estimated 2 million households still not connected to the main grid and some in remote areas will never be electrified. Over 7000 homes have already been electrified using solar home systems. The cost of such a system varies Rs. 20,000 -30,000. The provision of electricity to poor homes results in a tremendous increase in the quality of life of their inhabitants. Children no longer will have to use kerosene lamps in dimly lit areas for their studies and the quality of education will definitely increase. Just to take one example of from Sri Lanka a remote village Thorawa in the north-western province showed a phenomenal increase in the performance of children at the GCE (O/L) examination the same year solar panels were installed in the village. Not only the children could study well, happy with the newly found electricity, they do not have to inhale the noxious gases emitted by kerosene lamps anymore. In India these programmes are fully supported by the government of India where half the cost of a solar system is absorbed by the government. A system of bank loans could be instituted in order to purchase solar home lighting system which at present stands at about Rs. 25,000 for a basic system consisting of six lghting points and even capable of operating a black and white TV set. Another area which could be developed is street lighting systems for rural areas. These stand alone systems require some maintenance but villagers can be easily trained for this purpose. Water pumping is also an important application of solar energy. In the dry zone where there are numerous agricultural wells and small tanks, raising water using solar powered DC water pumps will certainly enhance agricultural productivity. In these areas the question is not the unavailability of water but to raise the water by at least 15 feet in order it to flow into the agricultural plots. Again a generous subsidy scheme from the government is essential for implementing such a project. Stand alone systems for small scale requirements have been successfully achieved in Tamil Nadu, India. Cost of a system to produce l kW power is around Rs. 500,000 and the pay back period is 5 years for a commercial enterprise.

Recently the Prime Minister of England promised to spend lOO million sterling pounds for a project to install rooftop solar systems in British homes while the Minister for energy publicly accused her bureaucrats of not giving her the right advice on the use of solar energy. In Sri Lanka the same thing is happening. Renewable energy is anathema to most of the bureaucrats and the engineers who do most of the energy plan and they do not give our politicians the right kind of advice which would be beneficial in the long run to our people. If a country like Britain can go for rooftop solar panels with so much dull weather most of the time, there is no reason why Sri Lanka could do better where plenty of sunshine is available.

Recently there have been much controversy about the commissioning of a thermal power plant burning oil in close proximity to the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi where fears have been expressed of a possible danger arising from the air pollution from such a plant. It has been estimated that the cost of such a project to deliver 20 MW to the national grid is nearly 1600 million rupees. A basic solar system such as those designed for home use costs only Rs. 25,000 and this amount of money could provide electric power to more than 64,000 homes for the amount of money spent on a 20 MW power plant. Furthermore, there is the guarantee that the electricity bills will not go up for at least the next 25-30 years. Use of solar energy is a viable approach worth considering since there is no need to have extensive transmission lines, no loss in transmission and with no danger of power cuts as we experience now. A solar power plant could go on without any petroleum based fuel with very little maintenance costs for nearly 25-30 years and is totally environmentally friendly. Solar power is not affected by global oil price increases and also any possible future embargo. Solar energy is best utilised in the form of rooftop panels of factories and large office buildings which have large roof areas. Already this has been demonstrated in one building at a private foreign company at Battaramulla where there is surplus power during the day which the company is willing to give to other customers in the area. This amply demonstrates the viability of the solar option. This is specially relevant for government buildings and factories which operate mainly during the day and expensive storage systems are not required. If the government takes the lead and install rooftop solar panels, this will give the initiative for the others to follow the same trend.

Even for individual households, solar energy provides an ideal opportunity to beat the power cuts which are in operation now and likely to continue with increased frequency. Surely there will be people who could afford Rs. 30,000 to install a solar panel on their roofs which could give enough power to tide over the current crisis. Even if the power cuts are discontinued, continued use of solar energy represents a significant reduction of electricity bills. Small companies then could proudly advertise that their products are "green" which means that at least a part of their energy is derived from the sun thereby saving on many gallons of burnt diesel. Or else they can state in the product label that "They do not contribute to increasing greenhouse gases and global warming. These may be business gimmicks but certainly the message given is important for the well being of our planet.

Solar energy companies should target the medium and the upper class houses and promote the use of solar panels in their houses in addition to promoting their sales in rural areas. There is a ready demand for such uncomplicated and an environmentally friendly energy source which we get free of charge. Not only it is free but there is also no danger of price hikes of solar power with time. It is important specially for the educated people to take the lead and stop being at the mercy of the Ceylon electricity board who for their own follies of mismanagement keep on increasing our electricity bills. The initial investment may be a significant amount but in the long run it will be a profitable exercise. Thus it is time that our energy planners to consider the solar energy option as a environmentally damaging.