Wind power can easily meet Sri Lanka total energy needs, experts say
View(s):While the total energy requirements for Sri Lanka by 2022 – 2023 is in the range of 5,000 to 7,000 megawatts (MW), this could be easily achieved through wind power for which the generation potential in the country is 30,000 MW by around the same period.
This was stated by Ramesh Kymal, Chairman/Managing Director, Gamesa India and Sri Lanka – part of Gamesa Corporation Worldwide -, at a media briefing held recently in Colombo to explain its operations in Sri Lanka and the establishment of its permanent office in Katunayake, last week.
Gamesa, a global leader in wind turbine technology, has set up an installed capacity of 45.3 MW of wind power in Sri Lanka and is said to be the leader in the market here with 40 per cent share.
Mr. Kymal, on the sidelines of the media briefing, told the Business Times that wind power would be cheaper by about 8 per cent compared to thermal power with no pollution and, with no imports of fossil fuel, a large sum of foreign exchange could be saved in Sri Lanka.
Speaking to the media, he said that last year they installed 1,100 MW (in India) and this year they would be installing 1,000 MW wind power in India. He said the company started installing wind turbines in a small way here, because they had concerns about moving heavy machinery on rough Sri Lankan roads at that time. However now the roads have improved and they could move heavy machinery.
He said that the wind power potential in Sri Lanka is very high and as the forecast requirement in Sri Lanka is around 7,000 MW, excess power could be exported to India as India is power-hungry and at present is buying hydro power from other countries.
He said that the Sri Lanka Energy Authority is talking of 400 MW wind power generation by 2017, which to his thinking is highly understated and said that they can show how wind power potential could be extracted. He said that in countries like Denmark and several other European countries often 100 per cent of their energy requirements come from wind power.
(QP)