Sri Lanka carbon emissions up, but power costs down with coal plant

Nov 17, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's first coal plant will push the island's carbon emissions by 46 kilograms per person next year, but electricity generation costs will come down sharply, power minister Champika Ranawaka said.

The coal plant will increase per capital carbon emissions by 46 kilograms to 700 kilograms a year," Ranawaka said after the furnace of a 300 MegaWatt coal plant was successfully fired with in Norochcholai, in Sri Lanka's Western coast.

The plant is expected to start coal burning trials next month and connected to the national grid in January 2011.

A consignment of 40,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia was being unloaded by barge now.

At full capacity the 300 MegaWatt plant will burn 114 tonnes of coal an hour. Coal is mostly carbon.

Carbon dioxide is a so-called 'greenhouse gas' which is considered to contribute to global warming.

Sri Lanka's 700 kilograms of carbon emissions compares to 2,200 for India, 5,600 for China 23,000 for Australia, 24,000 for the United States and 25,000 for Norway, the minister said.

Cooling towers of thermal plants also emit water vapor. Coal itself has water. Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas in the world, but it is it is below the rad