With calculations and estimates in hand, he knew Mannar would be a superior location for wind power, compared to Hambantota, where a pilot wind power plant had been fixed three years back, in 1999. “Wind power is too expensive”; “there is no wind in Sri Lanka but only doldrums or trade winds”; “this will be an utter failure”, said the wind sceptics. The road to Mannar wind power generation was indeed, literally, a road full of potholes and obstacles. The power transmission line from Mannar to the wind power plant cost USD 26 million. The backup for wind power has to come from thermal power plants, and a future pumped storage power plant, and when they become cheaper, perhaps from batteries.

Source: The Nation December 08, 2020 00:00 UTC