COLOMBO: Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Senevirathne yesterday in Colombo issued the Letter of Intent to a private company to purchase electricity generated from the country's first ever solid waste based Refuse Derived Fuel power plant, which claimed to have the capacity to solve permanently the city's garbage problem.
The Letter of Intent was issued to Colombo Renewable Energy Private Limited which would invest US$ 100 million to construct and operate a plant in Muthurajawela using state-of-the-art Plasma Gasification technology.
According to the Company's Managing Director D. Lakshman Perera initially 100 tons of compost residue from municipal solid waste would be fed to the Plasma reactor of the power plant under the first phase. However, upon the completion of the project the plant would have the capacity to use 1,000 tons.
Managing Director Arman Massoumi of Plasma Renewable Energy Company, Malaysia indicated that the technology is a controlled partial oxidation that was different from the combustion in the incinerators and clean from green house gases (GHG) and ash. He pointed out that technology was highly efficient and it would not have secondary waste disposal.
Minister Seneviratne expressed confidence that once fully implemented the plant would generate 40 MW of clean renewable energy while eliminating the garbage menace from Colombo.
The Minister said that the letter of intent to the Colombo Energy Company would herald a new era since it would address permanently the garbage problem in the Colombo City and the much needed electricity.
The Minister also disclosed an attractive cost based, technology specific tariff system had been offered not only for investors in the mini hydro projects but also wind biomass, municipal and agricultural waste and waste heat recovery projects.
The Minister invited the investors to invest in the renewable energy sector which he claimed to have a brighter future due to the Policies and the unwavering support of the government: "the unwavering policy environment, economic viability and government support I see a brighter future for Renewable Energy in Sri Lanka."
The Minister lauded President Mahinda Rajapaksa for recognising the importance of the power sector in development. He pointed out that the energy policy approved by the Cabinet had recognised energy security and the promotion of indigenous material in power generation as an alternative to the fossil fuel such as diesel.
"We are gradually but steadily moving in the right direction to reduce our dependence on the oil for power generation." But he said that the process would take around five years after the commissioning of the coal fired power plant. He expressed confidence that the Upper Kotmale Hydro Power Plant and the Norochcholai Coal Fired Power Plants would be operational by 2010.
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