Govt. mulls 600MW power storage plant

By Charumini de Silva 

Efforts to maintain a stable power supply could cost Sri Lanka a pretty penny, with the Government mulling the setting up of a 600MW storage plant in Aranayake, estimated at $ 800 million.

Pumped storage systems are useful at times of low electrical demand, where excess generation capacity is used to pump water into the higher reservoir, thereby when there is higher demand, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine to generating electricity. It is crucial when coordinating large groups of heterogeneous generators. However, capital costs for purpose-built hydro-storage are relatively high.

“Most probably a lot of aid and opportunities will come for this project. On Tuesday I had a discussion with the senior management of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sri Lanka office and they were very pleased about it. The IMF and other international donor agencies will probably help us on the Aranayake pump storage project,” Power and Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera told the Daily FT.

When using renewable energy, especially solar and wind power, there is an issue of intermittent generation, thus pumped storage system would be a great solution, he said. 

“We have done a survey as part of the preliminary planning and we are hoping to start the project within two years. That will give us the capability to absorb renewable energy during daytime and use hydropower during the night.”

The technology is similar to hydro power and is considered to be economical by experts because it flattens out load variations on the power grid, permitting thermal power stations such as coal-fired plants that provide base-load electricity to continue operating at peak efficiency, while reducing the need for ‘peaking’ power plants that use the same fuels as many base-load thermal plants, gas and oil, but have been designed for flexibility rather than maximal thermal efficiency.