The demonstration of sustainable biomass production and modern biomass energy technologies, by far is a success!
We have to our credit, a dozen of companies which operate BETs, while another dozen have done detailed feasibility studies and some have commenced the installation of gasifier systems. By the end of the Project, it is expected that, gasification alone will have a total installed capacity of 25.7 MWth and 1 MWe.
This would result in;
As at June 2017, 27 large companies are operating BETs. They include the following.
Nine Large Companies
Eighteen SMIs
The total installed capacity in large companies is 10.4 MWth, while the total installed capacity in SMIs is 1.6 MWth.
The saving of fossil fuel by June 2017 is 123,561 GJ. The electricity saving is 3216 MWh/ annum
The reduction in GHG emissions is 10.73 ktCO2e in large companies, 0.984 ktCO2e in SMIs, which account for a cumulative of 11.714 ktCO2e saving.
The Project has established 890 ha of model fuelwood plantations. These were done with different stakeholders.
The Project has established 890 ha of model fuelwood plantations. These were done with different stakeholders.
The report on the Assessment and Mapping of Biomass Consumption in Sri Lankan industries was completed on number of larger scale industries and SMIs by the SEA. This study covers the current status of biomass energy and recorded demand for biomass by different industrial sectors by district with supply zones.
With this available information, the Project developed an initiative to setup a biomass energy terminal. We have initiated steps to establish six biomass energy terminals in the following districts of Kurunegala, Galle, Ratnapura, Gampaha, Moneragala and Nuwaraeliya.
A standard for the sustainable production of fuelwood was developed by the support of the project with the Sri Lanka Standards Institute and relevant stakeholders. Named SLS 1551:2016, this addresses issues of traceability and legal requirements etc.
Currently, a standard for solid bio fuel is under development. This will look into the consistency in the quality of fuel, better coordination between industry and production and improved compatibility.
A database for information exchange among the relevant stakeholders is in the final stages of development. The database is designed to improve coordination between the supply and end use industry and also bring the current informal biomass energy chain to a formal status. It is anticipated that the database will be populated by engaging relevant industries.