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Low-quality coal fuels fears of environmental crisis; Lakvijaya ill-equipped to cope
View(s):By Namini Wijedasa
Burning the low-quality coal recently procured for the Lakvijaya coal power plant via a tender that is now the subject of corruption allegations will cause a sharp rise in the quantity of fly ash generated, thereby posing a severe threat to the environment, experts warned.
Sample tests conducted by the Lakvijaya internal laboratory on the first consignment of 60,000 MT of South African coal—bought through India’s Trident Chemphar Ltd—showed that the ash content was 21 per cent by weight. According to parameters set by Lanka Coal Company (Pvt) Ltd, a coal consignment is liable for rejection if the ash content is above 16 per cent. The standard (acceptable) value is 11 per cent.
Lakvijaya currently has the physical infrastructure—ash silos, bowser loading and purchase contracts with cement manufacturers—to deal with around 1,000 to 1,100 tonnes of ash per day. But if all of Lakvijaya’s three units are run with the low-quality coal, this will rise to around 1,600 tonnes per day, environmentalists said, requesting anonymity.
Consequently, there is concern that Lakvijaya will not be able to process coal with such a high ash content, leading the plant to resort to open dumping (as had been done in the past). An associated problem is that the ash filters also lack the capacity to handle the increased ash content. There is, therefore, a risk of overloading and increased environmental pollution.
“The plant is designed for a particular range of technical values,” one expert said. “If those values change, it is not able to operate as usual. Everything gets stretched, including the coal grinding mill and belt capacity. The new coal hasn’t been used yet, except for a few days’ trial, which proved it to be a problem.”
The total contract, awarded at the end of 2025, is for 25 consignments, all of which must be unloaded by April 20. There is no unloading between then and September, owing to the monsoons. This means that even if the purchase is cancelled and a new contract is awarded, there would be insufficient time for the quantity of coal required for Lakvijaya to arrive on schedule.
Observers said Chemphar’s first consignment contained coal that was “more brown than black” and had a high dust content. Subsequent tests showed that the stock had a calorific value of below 5,900 kilocalories per kilogram, which, according to tender documents, made it liable for rejection. The standard value is 6,100 kcal/kg.
The calorific value is the amount of heat energy released when a specific quantity (by mass or volume) of fuel undergoes complete combustion, essentially measuring a substance’s energy density. It’s a key indicator of fuel quality, with higher values meaning more energy produced.
“Lakvijaya is designed for a particular grade of coal, which is why you give specifications when you open tenders,” an analyst said, also requesting anonymity. “That’s also why officials tested it. But the Energy Minister and the Ministry Secretary are more interested in finding out who leaked the test report.”
Another test report from an independent laboratory called Cotecna was expected to be handed over to the Ministry on Friday, but there has been no official comment about its contents or what it determined the parameters of the problematic coal consignment to be. Cotecna is a global company providing testing, inspection and certification services.
Lakvijaya has no facilities to reload coal once it is unloaded. Therefore, there is no return mechanism.
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