The role of community organizations and NGOs in the energy sector Asoka Abeygunawardana

1. The role of community organizations and NGOs in the energy sector Asoka Abeygunawardana Treasurer, Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka Program Coordinator, Energy Forum

2. The NGOs and the Community Based organizations (CBOs) play a vital role in the energy sector in Sri Lanka • For incorporating social and environmental concerns in electricity generation planning • For providing energy services to the off-grid communities

3. Grid Electricity • Conduct protest campaigns against certain energy sector development projects

4. GENERATION FORECAST 2001 - 2021

5. Fuel Requirement

6. The fate of the first coal power plant in Sri Lanka

7. Is it destructive? Indirectly contributing to create more opportunities to renewables

9. As there is no adequate opportunity to present their views some parties act against the proper implementation of an energy plan. Energy planning should integrate financial, social and environment concerns believing that least-cost energy production and protecting environmental and community social systems is in the country’s best interest.

10. Role played by the BEASL: Studies, Lobbying process; Pilot projects BEASL estimated targets In the year 2010 dendro could: Generate 5752.5 GWH of electrical energy (50% of the total Sri Lanka energy requirement) Generate an additional annual income of Rs. 90,000 each, for 60,000 farming families Save Rs. 46 Billion of foreign currency Grow an additional forest/tree cover of 176,630 Ha for Sri Lanka

11. Role played by the Energy Forum: • Study on Incorporating Social and Environmental concerns in Long term electricity generation expansion planning • Feasibility Study of an out grower system • Capacity Building for providing micro financing to get grid connections

12. Role played by the Energy Forum: • Study on Incorporating Social and Environmental concerns in Long term electricity generation expansion planning • WASP 3+ is the software currently being used by the Ceylon Electricity Board for electricity generation expansion planning. WASP3+, as a part of ELECTRIC module of ENPEP (Energy and Power Evaluation Programme), is not a tool to quantify environmental impacts of LTEGP or cost them. • There are several other software tools available (in addition to WASP 3+) to fulfill different tasks in studying environmental impacts of electricity production, as well as energy production in general.

13. Feasibility Study for an out grower system for a dendro power plant • Badulla District; Meegahakivula and Soranatota DS Divisions • Land extent of the average farmer is 1 ha • The average number of trees currently available per farmer family is 2000 trees • If there is an established market for sticks then the farmers are willing of growing at least 3,000 more trees in the same land area. • The income of 70% of the farmers was below Rs. 24,000 per annum. • A farmer having a 1 ha land can expect an average income of Rs. 16,000 to 24,000 annually from his existing Gliricidia trees • He can increase his income to Rs. 40,000 - 60,000 if he plants additional 3,000 plants in the same land area. • Farmers who have over 10 acres of land are reluctant to establish energy plantations due to prevailing high labour costs.

15. Feasibility Study for an out grower system • Badulla District; Meegahakivula and Soranatota DS Divisions • Findings • A 2 MW Dendro power plant in the Meegahakivula DS Division with the existing Gliricidia trees. • Currently available trees in both DS Divisions can supply fuel wood to run a 3 MW Dendro power plant. • With the introduction of proper energy plantations to the selected area - power plant up to 11 MW. • The potential land area in the Rideemaliyadda DS is roughly 4 times that of Meegahakivula.

16. Community agro forestry Location District: Badulla; DS Division: Soranatota; GN Division: Boliyadda Land Extent to be cultivated : 50 Ha Number of Farmers involved : 100 Land extent per block of a farmer : 0.5 Ha Number of timber plants provided by the forest department for a block: 500 Timber species selected for the plantation : Teak Total number of timber plants provided for the forestry project : 50,000 Proposed number of Gliricidia trees per block : 3,000 Total number Gliricidia trees required for the forestry project : 300,000 Plantation pattern Space between two Teak plant rows : 5m Space between two Teak plants : 2m Number of Gliricidia rows between two Teak rows : 3 Space between a Gliricidia row and a Teak row : 1.5m Space between two Gliricidia rows : 1m Space between two Gliricidia trees : 1m

17. The Energy Situation in Sri Lanka Still 1.5 - 2 million households will not have access to grid electricity

18. A study conducted by the Energy Forum reveals that - having electricity for domestic lighting during 7.00 pm - 10.00 pm and for viewing a TVis a principal requirement - there is no direct relationship between energy supply and poverty reduction. - to achieve poverty reduction, a special effort has to be made to integrate energy and economic development initiatives.

19. Off-grid Technologies Available MICRO-HYDRO WIND SOLAR PV BIO-MASS O2 O2 O2 O2 BIO-GAS CO2 O2 • One 3 MW Grid Connected Power Plant • One 2.5 kW Off-grid Village Plant 20- 250 W Household Wind Turbines There are about 200 off-grid micro-hydro power plants in Sri Lanka supplying power to over 6000 households CO2 There are about 65,000 Solar Home Systems in Sri Lanka CO2 Over 1200 domestic units & Four community unitsgenerate bio-gas. Two household level electricity generation units. First community electricity generation project is under construction CO2 2 off-grid dendro power schemes

20. The approximate cost comparison Installation costs Micro-hydro US$ 2000 per 1kW Dendro US$ 3500 per 1kW Bio-gas US$ 3500 per 1kW Wind US$ 6000 per 1kW Solar PV US$ 10,000 per 1kW

21. Micro-hydro The Federation of Electricity Consumer Societies (FECS) takes steps - to coordinate after sales services required for micro hydro schemes - to incorporate economic development activities in stand-alone village hydro schemes and to develop appropriate implementation mechanisms.

22. Off-grid dendro potential survey off-grid dendro potential identified that almost all the dry-zone off-grid villages in Sri Lanka have enough sparsely used croplands that can be effectively used to establish energy plantations for supplying fuel-wood to generate electricity for the consumption of off-grid households. For this analysis, EF used onlyscrubland, grassland, and chena.

23. Dendro Power Project Parameters No of households Planned - 100 Currently connected - 58 Total h/h requirements - 25 kW Operation hours per day - 6 hours (4.45 a.m. to 6.45 a.m. & 6.30 p.m. to10.30 p.m.) Fuel wood species - Gliricidia Sepium Fuel wood requirement - 60kg/ hr Fuel wood supplying area (Existing Plantations) - 2 km radius

24. Running Cost Cost for the month Operating hours - 6 hours Fuel wood - Rs. 16,875 Diesel (3Lts / hr) - Rs. 4,000 Wages - Operator & Helper - Rs. 15,625 Maintenance fund - Rs. 5,000 Society - Rs. 1,000 Total - Rs. 42,500 Fuel wood Monthly Electricity bill per household - Rs. 500 Price of fuel wood at Farm gate - Rs. 200/ m3; Rs. 1/ kg Price of fuel wood at Power house gate - Rs. 375/m3; Rs 1.88/kg Monthly payment for fuel wood transportation - Rs. 7,875 Average income per household for supplying fuel wood - Rs. 106

25. Dendro Power - A privately owned power plant and plantation - A cooperative type power plant, with fuel wood purchased from identified suppliers - An exchange system, where community members exchange fuel wood for electricity

26. The off-grid energy sector’s great leap forward during the recent years is mainly due to formidable partnerships among Private-Public-Civil Society institutions.

27. The strengths and contributions of each sector are: The Private sector: To provide technology To provide energy services for a fee To provide after sale services for a fee (Service Companies) The Public Institutions: To develop a master plan incorporating grid extension and off-grid ET To link potential end users with civil society organisations and private sector To establish one stop shop for clearances To monitor the after sale services

28. The strengths and contributions of each sector are: The Civil Society: To provide micro-financing To mobilise the community and organise the end users To conduct Research and Development To monitor the after sale services Lobbing for better policy environment

29. ESDP and REREDP • Original proposal was to implement the project through the Government owned utility - Ceylon Electricity Board. • With the interventions made by the EF it became a private sector driven project • There were certain developments made to get the participation of the CSOs and Public institutions

30. ESDP and REREDP • The developments made to the original project include: • Sarvodaya SEEDS qualifying as a Participatory Credit Institution (Civil Society Involvement) • Contributions from Provincial Councils (Public Sector Involvement) • NGO activists qualifying as Village Hydro Schemes developers (Civil Society Involvement) • Establishment of Federation of Electricity Consumer Societies (Civil Society Involvement)

31. The Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development Project (RERED) It is to provide off-grid Energy technologies to 100,000 households However this will be providing electricity to only 7-10 % of the off-grid households