SC informed coal power plant will not be in Sampur

The Supreme Court (SC) was today informed the proposed coal power plant will not be constructed in Sampur.

The Attorney General informed court that the Ministry of Power and Energy had taken this decision.

Moves to construct a coal power plant in Sampur with Indian assistance drew strong objections from environmentalists and the public in the area.

Environmental Foundation (Guarantee) Limited had filed a Fundamental Rights application in the Supreme Court objecting to the use of coal as a source of energy generation and in particular against the proposed Sampur Coal Power Plant.

The grievances highlighted in the petition included discrepancies in the environment assessment report?as well as the long term environmental and health impacts that a coal power plant will invariably cause.

Further to this, the petition also noted that this move was contrary to the long term power generation plan of the government.

The Sampur Coal Power Plant was proposed as a joint venture between the Ceylon Electricity Board?(CEB) and National thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) of India and a Memorandum of?Agreement was signed between the Government, CEB and?NTPC in?2006.

Subsequently, a company was formed between the CEB and NTPC named Trincomalee?Power Company on the 26th of September 2011 in equal partnership to produce and sell power?generated by pulverized coal fired technology to the CEB.

The Trincomalee Power Company Limited was?to establish two coal based power plants with a total capacity of 500MW, covering 505 acres of land in Sampur, Trincomalee.

The coal was to?be imported by Lanka Coal Company through sea routes from?countries such as Indonesia, India and Australia.?(Colombo Gazette)