SUNIL JAYASIRI 
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2nd coal power plant in SL
The agreement for the second coal power plant in Sri Lanka with the installed capacity of 500 MWs will be signed by officials of India and Sri Lanka in Colombo this morning at a ceremony chaired by Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) source said yesterday.
Trincomalee - Sampur Coal Power Project is a 50:50 joint venture between the CEB and National Thermal Private Co. Ltd, (NTPC) with each investing approximately 15% of the project capital cost while the balance required for the completion will come from lending institutions, the source said.
According to the agreement, the Government of Sri Lanka, CEB and NTPC Ltd. the provision of the infrastructure required for the project is the responsibility of Sri Lanka. One of the major items under GOSL obligation is the construction of the coal unloading jetty and the related unloading equipment on the jetty. According to the preliminary investigations, the jetty will be located adjacent to the power plant in Koddiar Bay comprising a 300m long coal unloading jetty and 700m access way.
The jetty will be designed to handle various coal ship sizes bulk carriers ranging from conventional vessels of 40,000 to 175,000 DWT. The plant has a total capacity of 500 MW with two generating units of 250 MW each. It is intended to import coal from ships to the coal unloading point and then transport to the power plant.
The coal is then fed into the boiler, where it is burnt. The energy from the burning coal in the boiler generates steam and then turns a turbine, producing electricity, the source explained. The annual coal requirement for the plant is around 1.4 million tonnes. The power plant is expected to use coal that complies with national environmental regulations and other international guidelines. The main cooling water system will be using sea water.
The transmission line will be a 220 kv double circuit line to New Habarana grid substation, he said. At present the thermal power generation share is much higher than hydro. For a foreseeable future the power generation by coal will be the most economical option. As per the Long Term Generation Expansion Plan of the CEB, it was proposed to set up a 3x300 MW coal fired power plant in Puttalam in two stages.
The first phase of the project of capacity of 300 MW was commissioned in 2011 and thereby Sri Lanka entered into a new era of coal power generation. After the completion of a 900 MW coal power plant in Puttalam, the generation expansion plan stipulates the addition at a rate of 250-300 MW of coal power plants annually up to the end of its planning horizon.
In line with the generation expansion plan of the CEB, the Government of Sri Lanka took the initiative to select suitable agencies for the development of future coal power plants in the Trincomalee District. During the state visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in December 2005, NTPC Ltd proposed to the Government of Sri Lanka to set-up the project at Trincomalee in a joint venture with the CEB.
Thereafter a Memorandum of Agreement dated December 29, 2006 was entered into between the Government of Sri Lanka, CEB and NTPC Ltd. for the establishment of the project. The NTPC is an Indian government owned company. The power plant is scheduled to start construction in the latter part of 2012 and is to be commissioned in 2016. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)
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