Sustainable Power for Carbon Neutral Operation: A Feasibility Study for Printing Industry in Sri Lanka

A leading printing company in Sri Lanka was selected to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of renewable power generation to de-carbonize the (low carbon) operations. The study critically looked at the resource, economic and social factors affecting the design of a grid integrated renewable power system in a rural area. Technical challenges of grid integration through fluctuating renewable power along with economic challenges were investigated. Connecting to the closest 33kV bus was considered the most viable grid interconnection option.

 

The study indicated that a standalone Photovoltaic System (PV) of 4 MW would be necessary to generate the 5.2 GWh/year requirement by the printing facility. To take advantage of the current 60 MW grid connected competitive tender based Solar PV project by the Ceylon Electricity Board, a detailed techno-economic assessment was conducted for a grid connected 1MW system. A tariff of 19.48 LKR/kWh would result in a payback period of around 5 years with a reduction of 1068 tons of CO2 emission per year. Since the project location is within the coconut plantation belt of Sri Lanka, and because of attractive tariff schemes for bio-power, feasibility of a hybrid power system with biomass was also carried out. Different combinations of solar PV-biomass based hybrid solutions were studied within a maximum capacity of 3 MW due to space constraints. This results in a considerably reduced tariff, as low as 10 LKR/kWh, while maintaining a constant payback period of 5 years. A 2 MW hybrid system incorporating solar photovoltaic and biomass gasification, 1 MW each, is proposed to be the most economical solution, with project capital expenditure of 2.45 million USD.

 

The operation strategy of the proposed hybrid system could ensure a stable power output of 1 MW at the capacity factor of at least 75% of the year, compared with 17.53% for a 1MW Solar Photovoltaic power system.