This paper describes the study undertaken to assist the government of Sri Lanka in identifying a path toward sustainable power development. The timing of the report is important, as Sri Lanka is about to embark on the development of coal-fired power plants over the coming years. The purpose of this study is to determine how much cheaper coal-fired generation is than other energy sources
how much more environmentally friendly are the alternatives
what impacts would be more environmentally friendly
and what effect would the policies have on power sector costs and electricity tariffs. The report seeks to provide a quantitative analysis that will help decision-makers assess various power sector policy options in terms of the trade-offs between environment, costs, and other impacts. The study makes recommendations only if options are unambiguously winwin
but more often than not, tradeoffs are required, and ultimately the government must decide what it considers to be more important. A number of alternative policies and technologies were systematically analysed, and the report gives a brief description of each option.