Potential in windmill power generation under-utilised

WINDMILL ENERGY: Sri Lanka is yet to tap the vast wind power generation potential in the country, a member of the visiting Rotary international Club delegation Martin Pedersen said.

In an interview with Daily News he said that Sri Lanka is geographically suited to have more windmills to generate power and the Government must make more investments in this area.

He has already conducted a survey in the Ja Ela area and even this area is suitable to have wind power generated plants.

He said that according to other observations the Hambantota area that already has wind power generated plants can have more plants of this nature.

He said that the biggest advantage of wind power is that unlike thermal or coal power plants there are no environmental concerns. "In addition there is only an initial cost factor involved to generate power and is an ideal source for Sri Lanka," he said.

He said that Danish entrepreneurs are keen to invest in this area and are looking for partners and Government assistance in this regard. Over 20 percent of power generation in Denmark is met from wind power.

'Due to environmental concerns and the fact that fossil energy sources are non-renewable, there is a growing interest in alternative energy sources. One of these sources is wind.

He said that small enterprises in Sri Lanka should consider having their own wind power plant, as it would give them free electricity for life.

"Small scale wind generators have the potential to stimulate village-level charging enterprises for either community or private use," he said.

Wind power can also charge vehicle batteries that provide power to many households, especially rural areas as a power source for lighting.

In Sri Lanka, around 300,000 vehicle batteries are currently in household use, so the potential demand is vast.

Renewable energy has been prioritised in Danish energy policy since the early 1980s. This has led to the current situation where Denmark is one of the leading countries in the world in the field of wind energy utilisation.

Gopinath S
Chief Executive
nRG Consulting Services
Bangalore, India
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