{"id":222058,"date":"2021-08-27T21:05:59","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T15:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=222058"},"modified":"2021-09-02T03:19:37","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T21:49:37","slug":"the-saga-of-lankas-renewable-energy-reaching-70-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-saga-of-lankas-renewable-energy-reaching-70-more\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cSaga\u201d Of Lanka&#8217;s Renewable Energy Reaching 70% &#038; More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Chandre+Dharmawardana\">Chandre Dharmawardana<\/a> &#8211;<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_171829\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/is-there-a-cadmium-toxicity-health-risk-in-eating-sri-lankan-rice\/chandre-dharmawardana\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-171829\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-171829\" class=\"size-full wp-image-171829\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-171829\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Chandre Dharmawardana<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Professor <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Kumar+David\">Kumar David<\/a><\/span> (KD), while claiming that non-fossil energy sources like Solar energy are the best thing that has blessed humanity, continues to claim that they have little applicability to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Sri Lanka (see <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/impediments-to-a-better-ceb\/\">Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span>). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">KD, writing in the Sunday Island on 2021 August 22 under the title \u201cThe 70% Renewables Saga Again\u201d compares it to \u201cPavithra\u2019s snake oil\u201d. He claims that the 70% electrical energy target for 2030 from renewables that the \u201cPresident erected in his halcyon days\u201d is a myth that persists even among professional scientists and a few engineers\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">KD is a distinguished engineering academic who has defended the fossil-fuel plans of the CEB and its traditional suppliers. The president&#8217;s planners stupidly talked of a percentage, instead of giving an <\/span><span class=\"s3\">ACTUAL<\/span><span class=\"s1\"> energy target. So, by setting the actual target high enough, KD and the like-minded rubbish the 70% plan, while others write glossy plans claiming to achieve even 80% of the target. But the target is left unsdefined! We can use KDs own data and lay bare the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>assumptions by considering <b>actual targets<\/b> rather than percentages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>The CEB Data For The Decade 2009-2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Professor David uses the 2019 CEB Annul Report for his data. The <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/ceb.lk\/front_img\/img_reports\/162849515303_CEB_English_2019_AR.pdf\">Report<\/a><\/span> gives the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>gross energy output as 16.556 TWh (terra-Watt-hours, i.e., billion-kilo-Watt-hours, a kWh is called a unit) in 2019. Thus 777 kWh of energy per person was consumed in 2019, when the population was 21.3 million. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">KD launches a fantasy of 7% uninterrupted COMPOUND GROWTH claiming \u201ca post-covid growth spike\u201d, as seen in some countries. The \u201cspike\u201d reflects the massive financial injections<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>of rich countries buttressing<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>their business sectors. No such supportive expenditure exists in Lanka. Assuming 7% compound growth for the 11 years from 2019 to 2030 (inclusive), KD puts the total annual electrical energy needed in 2030 at 34.8 TWh. Amazingly, KD the electrical engineer has assumes <b>steady compound growth<\/b> in Lanka from 2009 to 2030 to make projections, while his Marxist double will tell us that there is no such steady growth in capitalist economies as they should show cycles of boom and bust! Which David do we doubt?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Forecasting The Next Decade <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Past data can merely indicate a trend that may or may not continue. Hence forecasting is mainly a process of how several possible scenarios may evolve. We examine KD&#8217;s 7% compound growth model and several other models that are more consistent with the CEB data shown in the associated Figure.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-saga-of-lankas-renewable-energy-reaching-70-more\/ceb-data-sri-lanka\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-222065\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-222065\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CEB-data-Sri-Lanka-.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"895\" height=\"565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CEB-data-Sri-Lanka-.jpeg 914w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CEB-data-Sri-Lanka--300x189.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CEB-data-Sri-Lanka--768x485.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 895px) 100vw, 895px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">KD claims that the \u201cnormal\u201d thing is 7% compound growth in his universe, although in the real world of Lanka it is perhaps only the DEBT of most people that is growing so fast! However, the CEB data (circles, years 2009 to 2019) show that a simple linear growth (the blue line ending up with a prediction of 23 TWh for 2030 is<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the best (least-square) fit to the data. Also, if compound growth were assumed, then a 5.3% growth (red line) is the best fit<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>for the 2009-2019 period, predicting<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>29 TWh for 2030. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Epidemiologists predict that the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Covid menace or its variants will<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>be with us until even 2028. So it is more realistic that the demand for electricity may merely change in step with population growth, while the amount of energy consumed per annum per head (about 777kWh in 2019) will stay put. The population figure is almost \u201ca flat curve\u201d. The resulting \u201cstagnation curve\u201d predicts that in 2030, the demand for electricity would be no more than 17.2 TWh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Professor KD looks at the pie-chart of the CEB 2019 Annual Report and proposes to \u201ckeep only two numbers\u201d in mind: (i) all the \u201crenewables\u201d including Major Hydro that added to 34.8% of total production in 2019; this is 5.8 TWh, (ii) excluding major hydro, the restricted \u201crenewals group\u201d is 11% , that is 1.8 TWh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Seventy percent of KD&#8217;s 34.8 is 24.4 TWh. To attain the President\u2019s 70% target within KD&#8217;s 7% growth scenario<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>by 2030, the renewably sourced electrical energy must jump from 5.8 TWh to 24.4 TWh! That is another 18.6 TWh. Now,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>KD limits all possible improvements in \u201crenewables\u201d only to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>mini-hydro+ Wind+ Solar+Bio, and asks, can you blow up this meager 2019 output of 1.8 TWh to 18 TWh by the year 2030\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, KD claims that, in his view,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>a total of 12 TWh of electrical energy generated annually from renewable sources, rather than 18 TWh<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>is a healthy and optimistic target to aim for by year-2030. That is, adding to 16.56+(12-1.8) <b>we get a total energy output of 26.8 TWh<\/b>, i.e., well above the 23.1 TWh needed for the linear growth (blue curve in the figure) target, and close to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the 29.2 TWh target for the 5.3% compounded growth rate (red curve in the figure). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">That is, we ONLY need the additional 12 TWh (conceded by KD) to achieve two of the targets indicated in the figure with 100% renewable energy. Mission accomplished!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>How To Achieve KD\u2019s Target Using Only Renewals <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The CEB data of the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>past decade do not include additional power for future electric vehicles. Furthermore, global warming will increase the demand for air conditioning. Hence, Prof. KD&#8217;s 34.8 TWh<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and even going beyond it become important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The key to the solution lies in the efficient use of the hydro-electric reservoirs that we ALREADY have. According to the CEB&#8217;s pie chart for 2019,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the major hydro provides only about 24% of the gross energy output.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The CEB pie chart is suspect for the following reasons. On 10th August 2020 the CEB reported that over 50% of the power came from hydro, with adequate rains. In December 2019, some 70% of the total energy needed was being met by hydro energy during a period of heavy rains. The VandeBilt University study of the Mahaweli system (Thushara de Silva et al, <i>J. Hydrology<\/i>, October 2019) also found that hydropower generation exceeds the recent 15-year average<b> more than 70% of the time<\/b>. Thus existing reservoirs have the CAPACITY to store that much more water if the water were conserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Reservoirs even overfills during heavy rains. Is the water efficiently used for energy production? NOT AT ALL. Excess water is released and wasted. Some 30-40% of the remaining water is lost by EVAPORATION from the reservoirs. Some 20% or more go to seepage. This happens day and night, and is most serious when the reservoirs are full. While 70% of the needed energy, i.e., 11.2 TWh could in principle be provided if reservoirs could be maintained at full capacity, the average drops to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the 4.0 TWh of the CEB pie chart that may well be erroneous. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The evaporation can be largely reduced by strategically covering the most exposed parts of the reservoirs with floats. Covering even 20% of the surface has a much larger (non-linear) effect in curbing evaporation. The floating panels do not \u201cdamn the aquatic life beneath\u201d. The death of water weeds and the arrest of aquatic hypoxia produced by the floats revive aquatic life in lakes fitted with solar panels (see Exley etal., Solar Energy, Volume 219,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>May 2021, Pages 24-33)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Furthermore all the water is not used for hydro-power. During the two planting seasons, agriculture over-rides power generation. However, the irrigation requirements can be halved without loss of harvest by (a) using surface floats to curb evaporation from <i>irrigation<\/i> tanks, (b) supplying only about half the water that is normally supplied for<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>paddy where modern weed-control methods can be used<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>instead flooding. Flooding causes soil erosion, washes away nutrients, and converts harmless forms of certain toxins (e.g., arsenic) into harmful forms. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">An accurate estimate of the gain in energy output from curbing evaporation and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>also optimizing the fraction of water given to agriculture cannot be known without a realistic pilot project lasting, say,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>four planting seasons. Mathematical modeling suggests that the usual 4.0 TWh output shown in the CEB pie chart can be increased by about 8 TWh. In any case, the CEB badly needs a <b>Power Research Institute<\/b> to test these possibilities, and do innovative planning rather than unimaginatively extending yesterday&#8217;s technology to tomorrow as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">With this addition<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>of 8TWh obtained by efficient water management and control of evaporation, the 26.8 TWh capability now increases to 34.8 TWh,<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">exactly the target that Professor David found in Aesop&#8217;s fables, but with 100% renewables! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Floating Solar Panels <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A part of the strategy used to gain energy output was the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>covering<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>of the reservoir surfaces to curb evaporation. However, these floats can also carry solar panels. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Mahaweli system covers some 250,000 hectares of land. The reservoirs and the adjacent land may easily provide (without litigation) 1% of the Mahaweli system, viz., about 2,500 hectares of\u00a0 water-surface as well as land area for the installation of solar panels. Assuming a rather modest annual energy yield of 150-200 GWh per sq. km\u00a0 of solar panels, some 5 TWh of energy can be generated as a lower estimate. The floating solar panels actually have a higher energy yield than land-based installations as they remain cool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Furthermore, this energy can be stored as water above the dam by NOT sending down the equivalent amount of reservoir water into<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the turbines of a reservoir where there is water capacity. The solar energy generated anywhere, or for that matter wind energy, can be stored as water in a reservoir somewhere else, WITOUT INVESTMENTS IN STORAGE BATTERIES, due to grid conductivity. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">However, as Professor David says, \u201cwhat\u2019s the use of wailing about all this until the brigands get their cut, or till competent and fearless technologists take control of the process\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":173744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The \u201cSaga\u201d Of Lanka&#039;s Renewable Energy Reaching 70% &amp; 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