Abstract:
The existing power generating system in Sri Lanka relies upon a mix of generation
from renewable sources, predominantly hydropower, with the balance from fossil fuel
sources. While the electricity demand continues to grow at an average rate of 6 ~7%
per annum, it is projected that the majority of new electricity demand will be met by
large centralized coal fired generation plants.
Sri Lanka's increasing dependence on imported fossil fuels put pressure on the
national economy, and it also has caused a heavy burden on the operational costs of
the Ceylon Electricity Board. Their impact on the environment is also a concern.
Therefore, increasing the hydro electric generation of the country to the optimum
possible level is extremely important.
Objectives of this research are to explore the remaining hydro electric potential in the
country and to propose strategies to harness this potential on a fast-track basis.
Subsequent to this, development of the remaining untapped hydro potential to the
optimum possible level and improvement of the output from existing plants were
investigated.
In this study, remaining hydro electric potential in the country has been estimated to
be around 971 MW, and they have the potential of generating about 3,704 GWh,
annually. Financial, information, institutional, technical and policy barriers have been
identified as main barriers against their development. Introduction of a new
institutional model for project financing and attracting private sector financing
through different ownership structures have been identified as main strategies to
overcome the financial barriers against large hydro development. Improvement of the
public awareness and having a firm national policy on developing the remaining hydro
potential have also been identified as feasible strategies to overcome the other barriers.
Resolving of evacuation limitations, improvement of research & development
capacity, introduction of creative project financing options and streamlining the
approval process are among the strategies identified to overcome the main barriers
against the small hydro development.
It has also been revealed that additions of about 355 MW of peaking capacity to the
existing large hydro plants are feasible and after completing the ongoing renovation
works at several power stations, the total hydro capacity would be increased by
another 26 MW.
The results of the case study revealed that the generation from Canyon machines
could be increased by about 5%, if the maximum efficient operation performance
parameters of these machines were considered for their dispatch. Hence, it could be
recognized as an effective measure of increasing the generation of existing hydro
plants, especially from machines with Francis turbines.
