Finnish Group to transform garbage to energy in Sri Lanka
From left: Prof. P. G. Rathnasiri, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Moratuwa; U.G. Ekanayake, Manager, Business Development, Endeavour Energy; Kumar Perumal, Chairman, Endeavour Energy; President Maithripala Sirisena; Juha Finnila, Fortum Oy and Walttari Kyrola, Concept Development Manager, Fortum Oy.
Two senior officials from Fortum Oy of Finland, which is responsible for 60 per cent of the renewable energy in the whole of Europe, were in Colombo recently on an official visit to discuss plans to transform garbage to renewable energy.
Senior managers Juha Finnila and Waltteri Kyrola along with Kumar Perumal, Chairman, Endeavour Energy Corporation Ltd (part of Fortum Oy) also met President Maithripala Sirisena, during the visit.
They were here to finalise an investment of US$300 million to generate renewable energy or ‘waste to energy’ and solar power. The investment involves building a ‘waste park’ on a 30 acre land in the Mirigama EPZ which, once completed, would be the largest in Asia, generating 250 MW electricity. This amount of power would be generated with waste recycling and solar power.
Endeavour Energy first came to Sri Lanka in July 2017 and proposed a novel solution to get rid of one of the country’s biggest problems – garbage disposal; to transform it to energy. What is customary in this country has been that though there have been a number of genuine proposals to convert garbage into energy these are often thrown to the dust-bin, due to bureaucratic lethargy, red-tape and corruption.
The company planned to set up 10 MW capacity energy plant and Mr. Perumal says their company with high expertise could make this conversion – garbage to energy – in a matter of six months. The plant can use all the Colombo City garbage of 2,400 MT while there would be 3,500 solid waste generated daily in the Western Province.
While Endeavour Energy was preparing to launch their 10 MW garbage to energy project, they were to also embark on another ambitious project to convert ‘chicken droppings’ – a bio-fertiliser project in keeping with the government’s intention to replace chemical fertiliser with bio-fertiliser. Since July 2017 Mr. Perumal, who is a Sri Lankan, has set up an office in Colombo to oversee the company’s energy conversion projections.
Endeavour’s long-term commitment in the Asia Pacific region is strategically focused towards the development and operation of Green Energy projects, in particular Waste to Energy (WTE) plants, refuse-derived fuel plants and associated industries processing solid and liquid waste. Endeavour’s complimentary core focus is also to produce bio fertiliser.
To sign the documents and the deal pertaining to this chicken droppings into energy project, Petri Peltonen, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Employment, Finland along with Marko Karkkainen, President, Ductor Pte , Finland (part of Fortum Oy) were in Sri Lanka recently.
Ductor Pte are experts on recycling chicken litter into energy and fertiliser, has its main plant in Finland and has factories in the US, Germany and Italy and are in the process of setting up of plants in Malaysia, Indonesia and Kerala. The Sri Lanka project on a 45-acre land at Bingiriya is worth Rs. 50 million.