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Saturday, 16 February 2013 22:17 - Indian scientist hails Polonnaruwa meteorite as a major ...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 12:17:05 +0100

Professor Godfrey Louis, Vice Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology of Kerala, India hailed the discovery of life in the Polonnaruwa meteorite as a major development in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Professor Louis is the pioneer scientist who drew the attention of the whole world to the strange phenomenon of the Kerala red rain and in the following email interview with this correspondent flatly rejected the opinion expressed in the state owned press in Sri Lanka that the coloured rain experienced in the island was the result of the spores of some lichens getting mixed in the rain water.

Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe and his team from United Kingdom universities recently announced that they discovered proof in the Polonnaruwa meteorite that we are not alone in the universe.

Sunday, 20 March 2011 21:39 - Norochcholai Coal Power Plant stokes on Tuesday

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 11:39:43 +0100

The Government has repeatedly said that development would not be compromised under any circumstances and even during terrorism development projects were being carried out.

However, successive leaders had shunned controversial development projects mainly to gain political mileage and stay in power. Two such controversial projects that were confined to the drawing board were the Upper Kotmale and Norochcholai power plants.

Even the Colombo-Matara and Colombo-Katunayake highway projects were delayed as there was no leader to take a tough decision to give them the green light.

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 10:57 - The greener nuclear alternative

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:57:14 +0100

If the Fukushima nuclear reactors were based on thorium instead of uranium, the current nuclear crisis in Japan right now wouldn’t be happening.

Thorium is a superior nuclear fuel to uranium in almost every conceivable way, yet we hear almost nothing about it in the contemporary hubbub about nuclear power. If there is such a thing as green nuclear power, thorium is it.

For one, a thorium-powered nuclear reactor can never undergo a meltdown. It just can’t. This is because thorium is slightly lighter than uranium and is not fissile – meaning you can pack as much of the stuff together as you want and it won’t undergo a runaway chain reaction.

Instead, you need to inject a smidge of energy into a thorium reactor to kick it off. Some designs use uranium or plutonium as a seed. An even safer design uses a particle beam to trigger the reaction. If there’s a problem, you switch off the beam, and the reactor cools down of its own accord. The meltdown is averted by simply doing nothing.

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 10:19 - India’s Nuclear Power Programme and its threat to Sri Lanka

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:19:08 +0100

India commenced its nuclear power programme as early as 1969 with the construction of a 150 MW plant at Tarapur with Russian assistance. Subsequently, several relatively small plants in the range 170 – 220 MW of capacity were built, some with Canadian assistance. The first large plant of capacity 490 MW was commissioned in 2005 at Tarapur, the same location as the first plant. According to the reports of Nuclear Power Corporation of India, India’s current electricity generation capacity from nuclear energy is about 4,100 MW coming from 19 plants, which is nearly 3 % of India’s total generation capacity. One of these plants has been built near the coast at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, about 80 km south of Chennai.

Sunday, 30 January 2011 17:07 - Our Plight

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 07:07:02 +0100

Our plight is this. We are found only in Sri Lanka and nowhere else on this planet. This makes us a very unique component of Sri Lanka’s fauna. Very few of Sri Lanka’s wild animals can claim to be as biologically significant as us. Despite our uniqueness we have been disappearing rapidly from everywhere we live. In fact, our numbers have declined so sharply, that in 2006 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed us as one of the twenty-five most endangered primates in the world. That means that we are in danger of going extinct and disappearing from this earth forever. That is our plight. And Sri Lanka stands to lose a unique and biologically significant national treasure. It is sad that many of you are not even aware of this problem.

Sunday, 12 December 2010 00:00 - CEB: Expectations and realities

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0100

Background to the largest engineering enterprise in the country

The Ceylon Electricity Board is, I believe, the largest single engineering entity in the country in terms of professional engineers employed and asset capitalisation. It is the guardian of a vital public good, electricity, and one whose delivery involves the most sophisticated technological challenge of all of Lanka’s engineering and industrial activities. I had the honour to deliver the 2009 Wimalasurendra Memorial Lecture at the Institution of Engineers (Sri Lanka) on 17 September and I will devote my columns this week and the next to edited and collated extracts chosen to be of public interest. The theme of the material I have chosen for these two pieces (the lecture itself went beyond these themes to deal with environmental and social questions) is reform of the electricity supply industry in the light of the sector’s own problems and worldwide advances in this industry.

Thursday, 04 November 2010 11:14 - Creating a hub in Sri Lanka

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 01:14:53 +0100

An Association of leading mould and die makers in Sri Lanka was formed in August 2005 with the blessings of the Industries Ministry primarily to enhance the quality and the number of moulds and dies made in Sri Lanka.

A mould or a die is a key component used in almost all the manufacturing industries to enhance its production capability. A mould or a die is needed to manufacture any component from a safety pin to a sophisticated component used in aerospace industry. If you have a look around you, telephones, computers, automobiles, washing machines, cellular phones, soap tablets or a chocolate slab, an endless list of articles, are made economically using dies and moulds. It is calculated that around 15,000 to 30,000 moulds and dies are employed for the production of several parts assembled in an automobile.That alone will give the reader an idea of the demand for moulds and dies globally. Sri Lanka being a small economy compared with the global scenario needs to boost its mould and die making capacity if it is to become a prominent stakeholder in global economy.

Friday, 17 September 2010 10:04 - Wimalasurendra, Stone Age Energy Pundits and the Future of ...

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:04:02 +0100

The Government of Sri Lanka is in a position to satisfy electricity needs at present at an affordable price mainly due to the 40 years of untiring efforts of a person who lived during the first half of 20th century. This person is none other than D. J. Wimalasurendra, who is the father of hydro power in Sri Lanka.

At present 50 percent of power generation capacity and 40 percent of annual electricity generation in Sri Lanka comes from hydro power. The balance is generated from oil fired thermal power plants. The generation cost of a unit of electricity from Laxapana hydro complex is Rs. 0.90 and from Mahawali hydro complex is Rs. 2.30. On the other hand the average unit cost of oil fired thermal power plants is about Rs. 20. If we were to generate electricity from imported fossil fuels then the electricity consumers in Sri Lanka have to pay additional Rs. 7.50 for each unit of electricity consumed. If so electricity would become a prohibitively expensive service for over 75% of the people living in Sri Lanka.

Wednesday, 18 August 2010 10:31 - New techniques used to stop land degradation

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:31:42 +0100

Adoption of new technologies in sustainable usage of the natural ecosystem to prevent land degradation and promotion of organic farming systems had yielded successful results in villages in the eastern province.

Six villages in the Addalaichenai DS division of the Ampara District were selected as suitable areas for this project.

Maramalarchy Social Elevation Organisation Chairman U.A.M. Hassan told The Island Financial Review Yesterday that the said areas have the potential for the production of fruits and vegetable crops.

Tuesday, 10 August 2010 10:12 - The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka – a World Heritage

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:12:36 +0100

The World Heritage Committee, the decision-making body on matters connected with the World Heritage Convention, met in Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil, from 25 July to 3rd August 2010. A major item on its agenda was to decide on nominations that had been made by member states for inscription of properties in the World Heritage List. On 30th July, after deliberating on the matter, the Committee declared the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka as a World Heritage, and it will be so inscribed in the World Heritage List.

To qualify to be placed in the World Heritage List a property has to be a heritage of outstanding universal value. Such sites fall into three categories: Cultural Heritage, Natural Heritage and Mixed (i.e. both cultural and natural) Heritage. The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka has been declared for inscription on the World Heritage List on account of its outstanding universal value as a Natural Heritage.

Wednesday, 21 July 2010 11:44 - Kumana National Park can be a forex spinner

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:44:29 +0100

Nearly 2,000 people had visited the Kumana National Park after it was opened to the public on January 30, this year.
Northern Province Assistant Wildlife Director, M C G Rupasinghe, says that upto to June this year the Park generated an income of Rs. 1.2 million. Most of the visitors were locals. "We hope to attract more foreign tourists to the Park.

"Personally, I am very happy that the Parks are under the purview of the Economic Development Ministry. Parks in Sri Lanka, did well when they were coupled with the Tourism Ministry," he added.

Tuesday, 22 June 2010 10:07 - Suggestion to Prevent Sri Lanka Power Supply Failures

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:07:18 +0100

Power supply fails due to earthing faults and to over load conditions. The former happens invariably due to wet weather and the latter, which is preventable is due to sudden surge of power mainly arising from industrial loads such as motors etc. These motors which need current consist of two components known as active and reactive. Only the active component is needed to do the useful work that the motors are expected to perform, and the reactive component is also needed only for it to function but not used up for the performance of its duty. Hence, capacitors are installed at site to supply this reactive component of power instead of drawing from the supply mains.

Thursday, 10 June 2010 11:02 - A Powerful move to power Lanka

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:02:19 +0100

Japan would never attach strings or lay down conditions to the beneficiaries in the form of political, ideological or national commitments when she offers foreign aid to any country in any part of the world, says Japanese ambassador Kunio Takahashi in an interview to the daily mirror.

“The only objective of Japan’s aid to friendly countries is towards economic, cultural and social development. That is why the Japanese government has given financial assistance to the tune of 1 trillion Yen (over Rs. 1,000 billion) to Sri Lanka since the 1950s. The foreign policy of Japan does not have any hidden agendas,” Mr. Takahashi explained.

Thursday, 03 June 2010 09:49 - Establishing an energy hub in Trincomalee -II

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:49:47 +0100

Outlook for NG use in India

Several analysis reports available in the internet forecast heavy shortfall of NG supply in India in the near future. According to a report prepared by the consultancy firm Mckinsey and quoted in Financial Express, India’s demand for NG will nearly double from the current demand of 166 Mcmd to 320 Mcmd by 2015, and with the inadequacy of domestic supplies, India has no option other than to go for large-scale LNG imports, if it were to shift away from coal in the power sector to comply with India’s voluntary targets under Copenhagen Accord (co-authored by India!) to reduce carbon emissions.

It was also noted that there is an increasing demand for NG in the domestic sector with plans to increase the number of cities supplied with piped NG from the current 40 cities to 200 or more. In the transport sector too, an increase in the demand is expected with more vehicles using CNG. According to a presentation made at a recently held meeting of the Asia Gas Partnership Summit at New Delhi, it has been mentioned that there is a huge opportunity in the LNG sector with the requirement of about US$ 50 billion investment over the next five years for expanding the infrastructure to meet the future demand.

Wednesday, 02 June 2010 15:48 - Establishing an energy hub in Trincomalee - I

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:48:59 +0100

Since winning the war, according to media reports, persons in both the public and private sectors have been talking about converting Sri Lanka into various hubs in such sectors as business, aviation, shipping, energy etc. Yes, Sri Lanka does have the potential to serve as an energy hub to serve the needs of both the South Asian region and the country’s. For this purpose, the availability of Trincomalee harbour, a gift of nature given to Sri Lanka, needs to be exploited. A moderate size natural gas terminal built at Trincomalee could serve this purpose.

Thursday, 30 July 2009 09:46 - Twenty five years of energy management in Sri Lanka

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:46:15 +0100

The second oil crisis of 1979 had just ended when the Government of Sri Lanka decided in 1982 to place energy efficiency and demand management as the top priority, with the energy ministry functioning directly under the President. By 1983, burdened with a severe drought requiring more thermal power generation as well, Sri Lanka spent 45% of her export earnings to buy oil, and the situation was getting worse. Thanks to the Mahaweli power plants, moderate weather, moderate oil prices and fast growth of the economy, Sri Lanka never had to spend such a large share of her income to buy oil. The more recent peak was in 2008, when the country spent about 35% of the export income on oil.

Monday, 27 July 2009 13:01 - Sri Lanka: Hot-spot for solar energy applications

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:01:08 +0100

World renowned Sri Lankan born Professor I M Dharmadasa, who is a Professor of electronic materials and devices at Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom, at a Solar Energy Symposium at Colombo last week said Sri Lanka has the largest drip irrigation system and identified as the hot spot of solar energy applications. He went to say that his vision is to go for renewable energy island.

Professor Dharmadasa has been researching on solar energy conversion over the past three decades and promoting renewable energy applications over the past two decades.