Renewable energy, the key to energy security

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Fossil fuel reserves are depleting as they are being used heavily to generate energy in the world. With the fast depletion of fossil fuels the world is looking for an energy source that would not deplete.

Renewable energy is the key to energy security. Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Authority Prasad Galhena, said that Sri Lanka is in search for the best options to ensure energy security.

"To achieve energy security we need to generate renewable energy, bring in energy efficiency, energy management and impart knowledge to the public and the business community", he said.

Energy security

We need energy sources that do not deplete as sunlight, wind or hydropower. When we consider hydro power we converte water into energy," he said.

A unique feature in renewable energy is that there is no fuel cost. "If we reach a position where we do not depend on imported fuel that means we are reaching energy security," Galhena said.

There are many advantageous of using renewable energy sources. In using renewable energy there is no carbon emission which contributes to global warming," he further added.

A person or a company who want's to generate energy using renewable energy must obtain approval from the Sustainable Energy Authority. "We need to ensure that the investor does justice to the country and our natural resources. We need to ensure that the country's natural resources are not destroyed," Galhena added.

Demand for energy is increasing and managing it is crucial for efficient use of energy. "We need to see what are the options available locally and globally to manage the demand," he added. An option the Authority has introduced is energy services companies where the high energy consuming households can get assistance from these companies to reduce the usage of energy. "These companies offer a system where the energy consumption can be reduced by a significant number of units over a period of time. Though this comes with a cost, after some time the significant reduction in the bill and energy use is an advantage," he added.

The Sustainable Energy Authority is keen on bring in the NET metering concept which focuses on reducing the consumption of energy in households and in certain cases factories as well.

"In this system solar panels are installed in the house which would have enough capacity to generate the average daily energy need of that house. This energy produced will be exported to the grid and the house owners will get it back from the grid in the night", he explained.

Households

"This will help control the overall pressure they impose on the main energy generation," he added.

"We have identified households with high energy consumption. And our officials approach these households and explain to them the chances they have in reducing their energy consumption and lower their bill while reducing the pressure on the overall energy demand," he added.

The Sri Lanka Standard Institute, and the Sri Lanka Energy Authority have introduced standards for equipment used for low energy consumption such as the CFL and LED bulbs, solar panels and electric equipment.

"The standards for bulbs worked well with the community and now we are trying to bring in standards for energy saving refrigerators," he added.

We have identified institutions that consumes over 50,000 units a month and we have requested them to appoint an energy manager. We train these energy managers in batches.

They are there to introduce methods for energy management. We evaluate their achievements and reward them at the end of the year.

Future generation

There is a need for an energy conscious society. "Energy conscious does not mean just switching off bulbs. But they should understand what is this energy, effects on energy and various aspects in energy and energy generating," he added. We have started educating children of primary schools on these concepts and these schools have established an energy club. Through them innovations emerge, families and villages get educated," he added.

The Sustainable Energy Authority is hoping to introduce these concepts to the education curriculum. "This is important because green energy, renewable energy these will be the key sources of energy in the future.