A joint Cabinet paper submitted by Special Assignments Minister Sarath Amunugama and Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya today seeking approval to construct two coal power plants at Sampur in Trincomalee and Norochcholai in Puttalam had been differed due to the absence of the Finance Minister.

A minister told Daily Mirror that President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have said the construction of the two coal power plants with an installed capacity of 1,200 MWs needs further evaluation and review by the Finance Minister.

Meanwhile, environment organizations have expressed concern over the proposal to build two new coal power plants in Sampur and Norochcholai despite being rejected by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) on the basis that they would contribute to environmental pollution harming human, animal and plant life.

The ‘Rainforest Protectors of Sri Lanka’ Convener Jayantha Wijesinghe referring to this move says the inherent issues and contradictions had cropped up in the recent joint cabinet paper outlining the diversification of the energy mix in Sri Lanka's long-term generation plan (LTGP).

"In line with Government policy, the already approved Long Term Generation Plan (LTGP) for 2017-2038, currently in force cannot be changed until 2019. Should the ministry need to introduce new proposals, it must wait until 2019 to do so, and seek public comments on all such new proposals. The public, being an energy consumer, has a right to comment on the nature of what they are supplied with for consumption; therefore, giving public opinion prior to the tabling of changes is moreover a consumer right," Mr. Wijesinghe said.

“The cabinet paper notes in its 'Background' section that minimizing environmental impacts in the generation of energy is a priority for the country and reiterates that when deciding on the generation mix, protecting the environment is of 'utmost priority'.

As environment organizations, we would like to note that this point is aligned with the assurances Sri Lanka made to the global community as party to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in April 2016, including in the country position paper that, "Sri Lanka will place her development agenda on a fossil fuel free target."

He said the Cabinet paper contradicted its previous point, when it allocates 1,200 MW to be generated by the two new proposed coal power plants, ostensibly for the purpose of strategic diversification of the energy mix to ensure energy security.

"Environmental organizations believe that using strategic diversification as a justification for the development of coal power generation in Sri Lanka is heinously damaging to the country's pledges to the world, and takes Sri Lanka a long step back in a world fast progressing past coal. In fact, the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which is part of the Conference of Parties, aims to grow its country membership to 50 by the next UN Climate Summit in 2018, in recognition of coal's role as the biggest source of carbon emissions in the world," Mr. Wijesinghe said and added that the Cabinet paper uses the term 'clean coal', a misnomer without a scientific definition.

"The term 'clean coal' implies higher technologies in coal processing that removes carbon emissions, although in reality the term is merely subterfuge created and popularized by the coal industry itself, in response to anti-coal litigation." he said. (Sandun A Jayasekara)