Viability_of_Introducing_Wind_Energy_as_a_Renewable_Energy_Source_in_Sri_Lanka

Viability of Introducing Wind Energy as a Renewable Energy Source in Sri Lanka Wind power has become one of the world’s fastest growing energy sources. The technology is becoming more and more sophisticated in terms of efficiency, cost effectiveness and ease of installation. Especially small wind turbines are a viable alternative for the areas that have no access to electricity. During last few decades, thermal and hydro plants were the dominant energy contributors and utilization of renewable energy resources was relatively small. The steep rise in oil prices depicts the importance of switching to renewable sources which are quite environment friendly and cost effective. Sri Lanka has considerable available land with wind resource potential sufficient for development. It is essential to identify key policy, regulatory, business and infrastructure issues that affect wind energy development and recommend step to encourage and support wind power development and investment. The Ceylon Electricity Board implements 3 MW pilot wind farm in Hambantota district, demonstrating the commercial viability and long term economic potential of wind power in Sri Lanka and catalyzing private sector wind farm development. In Sri Lanka systematic studies involving the development of wind energy commenced in 1988 by CEB. The most promising wind potential sites that were identified include ▪ Southern coast-Hambantota to Buthawa ▪ West coast-Kalpitiya peninsula ▪ Northwest coast-Mannar Island ▪ North coast-Jaffna district ▪ Central province-Ambewela area The 3 MW demonstrating wind farm consisting of five 46m towers with 600 kW turbines to supply a total annual capacity of about 4.5 GWh. International bidding resulted in a competitive unit cost of about US$ 1,175/kWh. The wind farm is successfully interconnected to the national grid and it operates at an average capacity factor of 14% which is rather lower than the projected value of 17%. Certain technical and economical issues have to be properly addressed while overcoming the barriers in introducing this novel energy source. The near-term potential wind power capacity expansion is limited by the electricity transmission infrastructure. CEB estimates that grid is unable to accommodate additional wind capacity more than 7% of the peak load which is approximately 100MW. Moreover CEB emphasizes that installing more than 20 MW of wind capacity in any given area may adversely impact local grid stability and power quality. To overcome these constraints, improvements to the infrastructure along with grid impact studies should be conducted. Because of the intermittency and variability of the wind, conventional power plants must be kept running at full capacity to meet the actual demand for electricity. Most cannot simply be turned on and off as the wind dies and rises and the quick ramping up and down of those that can be would actually increase their output of pollution and carbon dioxide. Electricity generation from wind fluctuates greatly, requiring additional reserves of "conventional" capacity to compensate; high-demand periods of cold and heat correspond to periods of low wind; only limited forecasting is possible for wind power; wind power needs a corresponding expansion of the high-voltage and extra-high-voltage grid infrastructure; and expansion of wind power makes the grid more unstable. The intra annual nature of the wind resource in Sri Lanka is not optimally matched to the seasonal variation in hydro electric generation. The maximum winds occur during wettest periods so wind cannot be expected to significantly help mitigate capacity constraints in dry seasons. Sri Lanka’s annual 7% to 8% load growth that exceeds generation expansion, its heavy reliance on hydro power, with fluctuating capacity depending on drought conditions, CEB and the government pursue additional and more cost effective generation technology. Wind energy can be a healthy candidate in this regard. Though the initial establishment cost of a wind farm is high, operation and maintenance costs are very low compared to the conventional power plants. Some institution problems such as land acquisition in suitable areas to wind power plants have been observed. Most of the wind potential areas are located far from the transmission lines. The primitive objective of this study to investigate the viability of introducing wind power in Sri Lanka in both economic and technical perspective.