List of power stations in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's electricity demand is currently met by nine thermal power stations, fifteen large hydroelectric power stations, and fifteen wind farms, with a smaller share from small hydro facilities, and other renewables such as solar. Most hydroelectric and thermal/fossil fuel based power stations in the country are owned and/or operated by the government via the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), while the renewable energy sector consists mostly of privately run plants operating with a 10 to 20-year power purchase agreement.[1]
Per CEB's 2014 generation report, the country had a total combined installed generation capacity of 3,932 megawatts (MW), of which 2,115MW (53.8%) was from thermal (900MW/22.9% from coal and 1,215MW/30.9% from fuel oil), 1,665MW (42.3%) from hydroelectricity, and the remaining 152MW (3.9%) from other renewable sources such as small hydro, wind, biomass, and solar. These generation sources produced a total of 12,357GWh of electricity during that year, of which 7,508GWh (60.8%), 4,534GWh (36.7%), and 315GWh (2.5%) was from thermal, hydro, and other renewables, respectively.[1]
Non-renewable
Current and future power stations in Sri Lanka. Hover/click on pogs to view the power station name/open the corresponding article.
- Thermal. - Hydro. - Wind. - Solar.
As of 2015, 1,464 megawatts of the total thermal installed capacity was from state-owned fossil fuel power stations; 900MW from Lakvijaya, 380MW from the state-owned portion of Kelanitissa, 160MW from Sapugaskanda, and 24MW from Uthuru Janani. An additional 500MW will be added to the total state-owned capacity after the late 2017 completion of the Sampur Power Station, which is being built with provisions to add a further 500MW in the future. The remaining 641MW of the installed thermal capacity are from six privately owned power stations. All thermal power stations run on fuel oil, except Lakvijaya and Sampur, which run on coal.[2][3]
In an attempt to lower the current consumer tariff for electricity, the government has decided not to renew the power purchase agreements of privately owned thermal power stations when their licences expire, as it has done with the six now-decommissioned private power producers listed below.[4] The government will utilize the new Sampur plant combined with new renewable sources to accommodate the lost private-sector capacity, with plans to introduce nuclear power after 2030.[5]
The Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy also made a statement that no more coal-fired power stations will be commissioned after Sampur, making it and Lakvijaya the only two coal power stations in the country. Any future thermal power stations will also be natural gas-run, to reduce the nation's carbon footprint.[6]
| Station | Owner | Location | Closest city | Capacity (MW) | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakvijaya | Government | 08°01′06″N 79°43′22″E / 8.01833°N 79.72278°E | Puttalam | 900 | Operational | [2][3] |
| Sampur | Government | 08°29′10″N 81°18′00″E / 8.48611°N 81.30000°E | Trincomalee | 500 | Under construction | [7] |
Renewable
Hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity had played a very significant role in the national installed power capacity since it was introduced in the 1950s–1990s, with over 50% of the total grid capacity met by hydroelectricity in 2000–2010. Hydroelectricity was popularized as early as the 1920s by Devapura Jayasena Wimalasurendra, who is considered as the "Father of Hydropower" in Sri Lanka. It lost its majority share on the power grid when further thermal power stations were introduced in 2010. The hydropower resource in Sri Lanka is divided into three main regions based on water resource, namely the Mahaweli Complex, Laxapana Complex, and Samanala Complex.[12][13] The following table lists all the state-run hydroelectric power stations.
While most hydroelectric power stations are named after their water source (i.e. the name of the dam and/or reservoir), a number of facilities have different names due to the fact that they are located larger distances apart (connected via underground penstocks). Further information on each power station is included in the corresponding water source article (i.e. dam). Privately owned "small-hydro" facilities (which are limited to a maximum nameplate capacity of 10 MW by state policy), are excluded from this list.
Solar power
Solar power is a relatively young segment in the energy industry of Sri Lanka. In 2015, only two grid-connected solar farms were operational, one state-run and the other run by a private company, both of which had an installed capacity of less than 2MW. Despite at least half a dozen private companies applying for development permits for photovoltaic and solar thermal projects,[19] none have actually commenced construction.
| Solar farm | Ownership | Location | Capacity (MW) | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hambantota | State-owned | 06°13′34″N 81°04′35″E / 6.22611°N 81.07639°E | 1.237 | Operational | [19][20] |
| Thirappane | Ulagalla Walawwa Resort P L | 08°12′20″N 80°32′38″E / 8.20556°N 80.54389°E | 0.123 | Operational | [19] |
Wind power
Sri Lanka's wind power sector saw activity as early as 1988, when studies were conducted to build a pilot wind project in the Southern Province. More than a decade later, the state-owned 3MW Hambantota Wind Farm was commissioned. The industry stayed dormant till 2003, when the National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted further wind power studies in the island, before which the industry went into dormancy for a further 7 years.[21]
Unlike the other industries, Sri Lanka's wind energy industry witnessed a sudden boom in 2010, with the commissioning of the Mampuri Wind Farms, the first private-sector wind project in the country's history.[22][23] It then suddenly crashed over the following four years after numerous scandals and hidden political dealings surfaced, involving key governing bodies such as the Sustainable Energy Authority and Ceylon Electricity Board, along with a number of senior individuals.[24]
The last privately owned first-come, first-served style wind farm projects, the Pollupalai and Vallimunai Wind Farms, were completed in late 2014, by when the construction of new privately owned wind farms were suspended until further notice by presidential order.[24] The largest private-sector beneficiaries of the "wind power boom" are Windforce and Senok, which currently own 7 and 3 separate wind farms respectively, of the total of 14 privately owned wind farms in operation as at 2015.[25] The other companies in the market include the semi-private LTL Holdings, Aitken Spence, and Willwind, which are currently operating 4 wind farms in total.[19]
See also
References
- 1 2 "CEB Statistical Report 2014". Ceylon Electricity Board. 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Generation Details". Ceylon Electricity Board. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 "Generation Plants". Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "We decided to close down 03 thermal power generation plants that supplied electricity to the Ceylon Electricity Board". Ministry of Power and Energy. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ↑ "CEB includes nuclear power in generation plan". Lanka Business Online. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka to reduce its carbon foot print in energy production by switching to gas". Lanka Business Online. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Sampoor Coal Power Plant (2x250 MW)". Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ↑ Mathes, Rohan (9 December 2008). "Kerawalapitiya power plant commissioned". Lanka Daily News. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ↑ Patel, Sonal. "Sri Lanka Commissions Major Thermal Power Plant" (2 January 2009). Powermag.com. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ↑ "O&M of a 60 MW barge-mounted diesel power plant". BWSC. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- 1 2 "Aitken Spence puts two thermal power plants up for sale". The Daily Mirror. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Wimalasurendra and Sri Lanka's hydro power". The Sunday Times. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ↑ "Appreciation: Eng. D. J. Wimalasurendra". Daily News. 15 September 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ↑ "Victoria Dam". Mahaweli Hydropower Complex. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project". Ceylon Electricity Board. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ↑ "About the Broadlands Hydropower Project". Ceylon Electricity Board. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ↑ Sirimane, Shirajiv (5 January 2014). "Moragahakanda project on schedule". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ P, Krishnaswamy (18 May 2014). "Deduru Oya reservoir project, a milestone for NWP farmers". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "PUCSL: Licensing" (PDF). Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Solar Power Park to be set up in Hambantota". Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy. January 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ↑ D, Elliott; M, Schwartz; G, Scott; S, Haymes; D, Heimiller; R, George (August 2003). "Wind Energy Resource Atlas of Sri Lanka and the Maldives" (PDF). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Rs. 3b Senok wind power project launched in Puttalam". Sunday Observer. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ Sirimanna, Bandula (21 March 2010). "Harnessing wind energy from Sri Lanka's west coast". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- 1 2 Gunaratne, Natasha (27 September 2009). "Wind powered electricity generation projects halted". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Windforce: Power Projects". Windforce (Pvt) Ltd. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ "Blue chips eye more hydro, wind power plants". DailyNews.lk. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- ↑ Kuruwita, Rathindra; Amaleeta, Nimashi (14 December 2008). "Future of wind resource development in Sri Lanka". The Nation. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 Charumini De Silva (18 March 2010). "Senok opens first commercial wind power park". Daily News. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ↑ "17 Billion Rupees for a 100MW wind power plant project from Samurdhi Bank". Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ↑ "SLSEA Energy Permits: Wind Projects". Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ↑ "PUCSL: Intention to Grant Licences". Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ↑ "Project Information - Hayleys Nirmalapura Wind Farm". World Bank. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ↑ "Windforce Power Projects: Joule Power". Windforce (Pvt) Ltd. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Seguwantivu and Vidatamunai Wind Farms". Windpower.lk. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ↑ "PowerGen Wind Power Plant". Windpower.lk. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ↑ "Windforce Power Projects: Beta Power". Windforce (Pvt) Ltd. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Power plants in Sri Lanka. |
- Ceylon Electricity Board
- Ministry of Power & Renewable Energy
- Mahaweli Hydropower Complex
- Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority
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