News
Final decision on fourth coal plant shortly
By Ifham Nizam
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the fourth plant of the Norochcholai coal power complex had not yet been conducted, a project official yesterday told The Island.
He said that EIA was to be conducted by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) following a request from the CEB. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which is to construct the fourth plant, however, would not be involved in the EIA process, the official assured
The senior official said that the final decision on the construction of the fourth unit would only be taken by the new government to be formed. He added that people and industrialists had reduced electricity use. Coal consumption too had decreased this year.
Global Energy Monitor (GEM,) a non-governmental organisation which catalogues worldwide fossil fuel infrastructure, in a recent report, said that even before Covid-19, new coal plant construction was slowing in Asia. The pandemic further accelerated the region’s transition away from the fossil fuel as it caused delays in coal plant construction, the study said.
Only one gigawatt (GW) of coal power was newly proposed in the Asia region. This is almost a 70 per cent drop from the average 2.9GW of new proposals and 2.7GW of new construction every six months in the region since 2015, said the study’s lead author Christine Shearer.
“I do think Coved will [continue to] accelerate the transition away from coal in Southeast Asia,” said Shearer, who is also the director of GEMs coal programme.
“Covid is also lowering projections of future energy demand, at least in the near-term, and with its higher fuel costs over solar and wind, plans for new coal plants may be among the first to be cut.”
Members of the National Student Parliament met Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Monday [02nd of February] at Temple Trees.
The representatives of the National Student Parliament, representing schools from across the island, visited the Temple Trees following their visit to the Presidential Secretariat and the Parliament.
Expressing her views on the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated,
“The new education reforms were recently initiated starting from Grade One. Discussions are currently underway to include students entering Grade Six this year into the new education reform process in the future. The education reforms will not be halted, and the government is committed to implementing them in a systematic manner without shortcomings”.
She further noted that the reforms are being carried out under five main pillars, with the government’s key objective being to reduce disparities and provide children with quality education, while also nurturing a socially responsible community enriched with human values such as compassion, love for the environment, and a strong sense of civic responsibility.
The occasion was attended by the Deputy Director of Education Kasun Gunarathne, along with officials from the Ministry of Education and representatives of the National Student Parliament.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
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